'I Hate Luv Storys' songs

http://www.ihateluvstorys.com/music.htm

5 Tips for Changing the Way You Think

In an ideal world, our thoughts, experiences and beliefs would remain in a continuous state of refinement and renewal. We would frequently be exposed to new and interesting people and situations, and we would constantly discover and enhance new aspects of our emotional and intellectual lives.

However, this is rarely how life progresses. For many of us, personal ruts and situational repetition are the norm. Our focus narrows to daily stressors and events outside of our control. Our careers slowly push ahead, our circle of friends holds steady or shrinks over the years, and we content ourselves with familiar forms of recreation, mental stimulation and social interaction.

Then, one day, we wake up feeling we need something … different. Perhaps we tire of dwelling on old worries or lost opportunities. Maybe we get bored of doing the same thing day after day. Or possibly we just want to see the "old" world in an entirely new way.

Whatever the reason, it's not hard to change the way we think -- but it does take some effort. What are some ways you can change the way you think? Read on to find out.

1: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

The Value of Relationships (Even Bad Ones) Relationships -- and the interpersonal challenges they present -- certainly can remove us from our comfort zones. Even conflict-driven relationships, while not preferable, can teach us plenty about ourselves and the way we navigate difficult emotional terrain. The lessons learned and self-knowledge gained often require the give-and-take of a relationship; the same personal gain usually can't be achieved by individuals who isolate themselves from others [source: Oz].

Going about your life the same way day after day, doing the same activities you've always done, and planning the next weekend to mirror the last one is a good recipe for shrinking your awareness, joy and understanding of the world.

We have a natural (and often useful) tendency to stick with the familiar in life and avoid situations that make us uncomfortable. This is a good way to stay out of sticky situations, but it's also a good way to get in a rut and stay there. Pushing yourself to embrace new activities and experiences that force you to step outside your comfort zone is a good way to change the way you think.

Perhaps it's something physically intimidating, like skydiving or bungee jumping. Maybe getting outside your comfort zone means you seek out public spaces in which you're an ethnic, cultural or religious minority. Instead of vacationing in well-worn tourist traps, try a new destination that's off the beaten path.

Now that we've gotten you on the path to seeing things a whole new way, tee the nest page for lots more articles on changing the way you think.

---

2: Meet New People

Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock
Time for a new and different friend.

To bring new thoughts, ideas and perceptions into your life, get to know someone with a different perspective, occupation, background, culture or religion.

Why? Hanging out with like-minded people is a good way to hear constant reinforcement of your own thoughts and beliefs. This also makes it easy to fall into "groupthink" and makes it more difficult to see (or acknowledge) faults, shortcomings and falsehoods of our own.

That's not to say you need to get rid of old friends -- just spice up your life with some new ones. New friends and acquaintances increase the odds that you're introduced to new ways of thinking. You may be pleasantly surprised to have your worldview rocked a little bit by a simple conversation with somebody who views life much differently than you do. The great thing about widening your social circle is that new friends can help expand it even further by introducing you to people you might otherwise have little opportunity to meet.

You don't have to travel to exotic lands to meet new people who think differently than you do -- in fact, they're all around you. It may just be a matter of being willing to initiate conversations with people from whom you'd normally shy away.

3: Work on Self-awareness

We can't think differently if we don't pay attention to the way we currently think. It isn't hard to walk through life with unchallenged or outdated beliefs, preconceptions, wrong assumptions and a personal narrative that's badly in need of updating.

Many people are afraid of acknowledging and exploring their own thoughts and emotions, choosing instead to focus on life outside their own skin -- the needs of others, career goals that have been set, and the constant static of the Information Age. Focusing on self-awareness can help you reconnect with your true needs, desires and dreams. It can make you pay attention to how you treat people and how you feel about how you're treated by others.

It may seem almost indulgent to work toward becoming more self-aware, but if so, there's nothing wrong with splurging on yourself. Increased self-awareness can facilitate major life changes -- many 12-step programs place large emphasis on personal exploration, the processing of painful events from the past, and the acknowledgment of resentments and fears in order to overcome personal demons and addictions. Identifying your moods and emotions will make it possible to adjust them. You can't change the way you think until you understand what's causing you to think the way you do.

Want to change the way you think? How about changing the people around you? Keep reading for tips on how to do that.

4: Do Things Differently

iStockphoto/Thinkstock
If the idea of singing terrifies you, maybe it's time to belt out a favorite tune -- privately or on stage.

Trying to change the way you think? Why not try changing the things you do? It's not easy to change your perspective on things, especially when you're doing the same old things over and over.

Even making little changes in your life can help. Pick up a new sport or activity that you've always wanted to try. Go to restaurants, parks and other gathering places that you don't normally frequent. Try out a new author or musician, see a movie screened by your local film society, attend a community potluck, volunteer at a nonprofit, or attend a religious service that is different from your own.

Are you something of a "control freak"? Farm out tasks to others and set aside your high expectations and instinct to take the project over and do it your way. If you're more of a passive person, make an effort (even if just for a day or a week) to take matters into your own hands and to be more assertive. Introverts, attempt to come out of your shells. Commit yourself to initiating and maintaining a five-minute conversation with a total stranger once a day.

By changing or breaking even small routines, your brain will be exposed to new stimuli and will create new neural pathways to accommodate changes.

You must know how you think in the first place in order to think differently, as we'll next discuss.

5: "I Will Think Differently, I Will Think Differently"

Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock
Approach your thinking with the same determination you'd give anything else.

Some people believe that the best way to help yourself change the way you think is to tell yourself -- repeatedly -- to think a different way.

The idea isn't new. In fact, it's very, very old. Most religious practices involve the repetition of prayers, appeals or affirmations. Militaries across the world demand that recruits change the way they think, and use chants, cheers and oaths to help do so.

You may decide to choose a very specific mantra -- "Public speaking is fun!" -- or something a little more broad, such as "Live in the moment." As long as your mantra or affirmation isn't grounded in the status quo ("Nothing must change, nothing must change"), it may help you change the way you think.

But choosing a mantra isn't enough. It's important to take time each day to review and repeat the catchphrase, or you won't give its message time to sink in. Try to repeat it throughout the day whenever a situation presents itself that challenges you.

Next: Do differently, think differently.

via:http://health.howstuffworks.com/5-tips-to-change-the-way-you-think5.htm

Bollywood Glitz: IPL 2009

Exovault iPhone iPhone Case hands-on | exovault iphone case

"Beautiful Brides" "Photography"" | by Amer Raja

via:http://photo.net/photodb/member-photos?user_id=2159126

Photos By: G Steve

via:http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2670246

Sachin, Mere Aanka, Tussi Great Ho! Tohfa Kabool Karo!!!

Sachin, Mere Aanka, Tussi Great Ho! Tohfa Kabool Karo!!!

Bangalore: India virtually came to a standstill between 1700 and 1815 hours today as the country's cricketing God Sachin Tendulkar became the first man in limited overs cricket to cross the individual 200-run mark.

And who better than Sachin to take away the record for highest individual total in a one-day match from left-handed Pakistani opener Saeed Anwar who made 194 runs 13 years ago against India at Chennai.

Suffice to say that today, life came to a standstill at offices, restaurants, airports and shopping malls across the country as eager fans glued themselves to any available medium from internet to live television to savour the moment when the maestro got to his 200th run.

In fact, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni got a few "boos" despite smacking the South African bowlers over the ropes as eager fans wanted him to give Sachin the strike so that he could get to 200. What's more, the Master remained unbeaten as he guided India to 401 runs in their alloted 50 overs.

For a man who is past personal cricketing milestones in a 20-year career, it is ironical that every time Sachin Tendulkar gets on the ground he sets one. And today, he set one that may stay for a long time. What was intriguing to many was the manner in which he went about the task.

Starting off as if he had a plane to catch, Sachin blitzed the hapless South African bowlers to all corners while sharing major partnerships with three of the four batsmen who played alongside him. While Sehwag missed out early on, getting out with the score on 25, Sachin built up partnerships with Dinesh Kartik, Yusuf Pathan and Dhoni.

He slowed down only after getting into the 190s when Dhoni suddenly took over the aggressor's role and let his senior partner focus on the record. Sachin's 46th one-day ton which turned into a double ton was studded with three sixes and 25 boundaries. That he managed to make 82 runs in singles tells a lot about both his physical and mental fitness.

Tendulkar, who was robbed of a 200-plus score twice last year, must feel a relieved man to be holding a record in one-day matches that would take some beating. Saeed Anwar's record of 194 was matched by Charles Coventry, a player from Zimbabwe who made the score against Bangladesh and ended up on the losing side.

In a way it is poetic justice that a batsman with most runs in tests and ODIs and nearly the most capped in both forms of the game holds this record as well. While Brian Lara continues to hold the highest total in tests, it must be said that there is no better batsman than Sachin to score a double in the one-day game - an arena that he has lorded over ever since Sachin came out to open the batting against New Zealand in the early 1990s.

Given his achievements, it must be said that Sachin is not Cricketing God... he is Cricket! In the words of Abhishek Bachchan on Twitter: I finally know what God really looks like!! He is about 5"5, Maharashtrian and plays cricket!! Tendulkar Bapa Morya!!!

more on : http://sports.in.msn.com/cricket/indsatest/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3643174&page=2

Tendulkar breaks the 200-run barrier | sachin score 200 | Latest news on "Sachin"

50 overs India 401 for 3 (Tendulkar 200*, Karthik 79, Dhoni 68*) v South Africa

	It was a day when the likes of MS Dhoni, who made significant contributions, were totally overshadowed by the brilliance of Sachin Tendulkar © Associated Press

After 39 years of ODI cricket, Sachin Tendulkar chose arguably the best bowling attack doing the rounds, to eclipse the record for the highest score ever before bringing up the first ever double-hundred in the game's history. The lucky spectators at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior were privileged by one of the most special knocks from Tendulkar's blade, as he batted without any of the shackles he has imposed on himself in the latter part of his career. Nothing could deny the master - be it bowlers, fielders or mix-ups. Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni stood by and admired as Tendulkar unfurled all the shots in his repertoire and more, to take India past the 400 mark.

In the 46th over, with a flick for two past short fine-leg, Tendulkar broke the record for the highest ODI score, going past the 194 made by Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry and Pakistan's Saeed Anwar, and to say that he acknowledged his feat modestly would be an understatement. He didn't raise his bat, merely shook hands with Mark Boucher and simply carried on batting amid the din. Coming from a man who is not known to showing too much emotion with the bat in hand, it wasn't surprising. He reserved his celebrations for the magic figure of 200, which he reached in the final over with a squirt off Charl Langeveldt past backward point. He raised his bat, took off his helmet and looked up at the skies and it was only fitting that one-day cricket's highest run-getter reached the landmark.

more on :http://www.cricinfo.com/indvrsa2010/content/story/449829.html

Sachin Tendulkar fires record 200 against South Africa

Second one-day international, Gwalior:
India 401-3 (50 ovs) v South Africa
Match scorecard

Tendulkar underlined his sensational class with a double century in Kanpur

Sachin Tendulkar created history by firing the first double century in one-day internationals as India put South Africa to the sword in Gwalior.

The 36-year-old was in indomitable form as he bludgeoned 25 fours and three sixes in a stunning 200 off 147 balls.

It passed the previous best of 194, set by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar in 1997 and Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry last year.

And it saw India, aided by a fabulous cameo of 68 off 35 balls from Mahendra Dhoni, to a superb 401-3 from 50 overs.

Tendulkar, whose previous best one-day knock was the 186 not out he scored against New Zealand in 1999, is already the leading run-scorer in Test and ODI cricket.

More to follow.

via:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/8534309.stm

SACHIN 200 | first batsman to score 200 | First ever 200 in ODI

NEW DELHI: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar added another feather to his cap when he became the first batsman to cross the 200-run mark in an one-day international at Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior on Wednesday.

Tendulkar achieved the unique landmark when he run a single off Langeveldt against South Africa in the second one-dayer of the ongoing three-match series.

Sachin's 200 came off 147 balls, which include 25 fours and 3 sixes.

The master surpassed the previous highest individual score made by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar (194 against India in 1997) and Charles Coventry of Zimbabwe (194 not out against Bangladesh in 1999).





MORE ON http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournaments/south-africa-in-india-2010/top-stories/Sachin-Tendulkar-slams-46th-ODI-hundred/articleshow/5611817.cms

India v South Africa 2009/10 / News | . "ind vs south africa" | "cricket news india" | india south africa test

India v South Africa, 2nd Test, Kolkata, 5th day

India win thriller despite heroic Amla

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga

February 18, 2010

Text size: A | A

India 643 for 6 dec (Sehwag 165, Laxman 143*, Dhoni 132*, Tendulkar 106) beat South Africa 296 (Amla 114, Petersen 100, Zaheer 4-90, Harbhajan 3-64) and 289 (Amla 127*, Harbhajan 5-59, Mishra 3-78) by an innings and 58 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Hawkeye

	India couldn't dismiss Hashim Amla all day, but got all his partners instead © Associated Press
Related Links News : We wanted to be No.1 - Harbhajan Singh Players/Officials: Hashim Amla | Harbhajan Singh | Amit Mishra Matches: India v South Africa at Kolkata Series/Tournaments: South Africa tour of India Teams: India | South Africa

They couldn't out Hashim Amla at all. But India, down to three bowlers and led by an exceptional Harbhajan Singh, found a way around him, leaving him stranded with nine mandatory balls to go, sealing a heart-stopping, series-levelling, top-spot-retaining win. As was fitting, it was Harbhajan who brought about the final wicket with a slider to the left-hand batsman Morne Morkel, after he had put together a 76-minute last-wicket stand with Amla. The final few steps didn't come easy for India: the last three wickets batted out 53.3 overs to set up a beautiful Test-match finish.

For eight hours and 19 minutes in this innings, taking the total time spent at the wicket to 23 hours and 22 minutes for the series, Amla saw everything: offbreaks, topspinners, unintended doosras, big legbreaks, googlies, bouncers, full ones, a blow on the elbow, the opposition bowlers' joy, the bowlers' frustration, and Harbhajan's eruption at having taken the last wicket. Throughout, when he reached fifty, when he reached hundred, when he was hurt, when he was concentrating, when he was defending, during those final few overs of counting each delivery down, and when he was walking back after one of the biggest disappointments he will experience on a cricket field, the calm expression on that face didn't change.

Amla batted like the Monk who didn't even have a Ferrari to sell, and it took a special bowling effort to deny his side the series win. Harbhajan answered India's call with spin bowling aggressive and patient, smart and persistent, and came up with that wicket-taking delivery when it had deserted the other bowlers.

If Amla never looked like getting out, Harbhajan never looked like letting anybody else settle. India started the day needing seven wickets in 98 overs, 52.2 of which were a hopeless waste: Amla faced them, and this man was not going to get out. Not today. They did well to create enough pressure in the remaining overs - despite two dropped catches - to finish the match off with 16 minutes still remaining in the day's play.

India woke up to a bright and sunny day, but were thwarted in the first session by Amla and Ashwell Prince. For about two hours, Amla kept killing their hopes, Prince kept raising them only to not edge to hand. Finally, just when the draw started to become the favoured result, Harbhajan came back for his second spell of the day, from his favoured High Court End.

In the first spell, he had tried to get Prince lbw in a fashion similar to the one in the first innings, and failed. In his second he went over the stumps and made it difficult for Prince to judge which deliveries to leave. The leg line troubled Prince, and finally he jabbed at one outside off and lobbed it to mid-off.

Amit Mishra once again produced the special delivery out of nowhere, this time a googly to take out AB de Villiers in the penultimate over before the lunch break, the third time he had taken a wicket just before a break in the innings. de Villiers was the big wicket because he was the one batsman capable of using his feet and hitting spinners off their length.

In the second spell, six overs each either side of lunch, Harbhajan looked menacing with almost every delivery. After lunch, Harbhajan went on to suggest JP Duminy might become his new Ponting. Offbreak, offbreak, slider. Duminy caught in front again. Dale Steyn didn't have a clue about deliveries spinning down the leg side, and kept getting beaten. Harbhajan smartly moved round the stumps, and trapped him too.

Thereafter Amla found an able partner in Parnell, who looked much more assured than Steyn, and helped by a dropped catch by Suresh Raina at a wide fourth slip, played out 24.2 overs. Amla manipulated the strike well: out of eight overs that Harbhajan bowled during that stand, Parnell got away by facing only 12 balls from the best bowler around.

A soft shot befitting a No. 9 arrived duly, after which Amla shielded Paul Harris for a while. From facing four balls of each over, he gradually let Harris face three each, and by the time Harris generated enough confidence in Amla, a soft shot befitting a No. 10 came by. Ishant got both the wickets, but 8.3 more overs had been negated.

That started the most exciting period of the match. Morkel batted solidly along with Amla, they both judged the leaves well, they both defended with soft hands, they both frustrated India more with every passing delivery. Towards the end, mind games began. Amla took a single late in a Mishra over to face Harbhajan in the next over, Dhoni removed Harbhajan and tried the part-time stuff from Sachin Tendulkar and Sehwag, and got Harbhajan to bowl at Morkel again.

Nothing gave. Amla seemed to have found a partner who was holding his nerve well. The desperation on Indian faces kept getting more and more apparent with every passing delivery. With 3.2 overs to go, Amla cut Tendulkar towards the boundary, took a single so as to face two more overs as opposed to one. Sehwag hoped it would reach the boundary as he chased, but slyly tried to kick it over when he saw it stop inches before the rope. Just to keep Morkel on strike. That's how much it mattered.

Amla duly played out the next over, Dhoni duly saved Harbhajan for the over after that. Harbhajan had six more balls left, from the High Court End. The first pitched middle, turned away. The second pitched leg, and broke towards off. The third was the killer slider, Morkel made his first mistake in 60 deliveries. Harbhajan roared, Amla's expression didn't change much.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

Feeds: Sidharth Monga

India overcome South Africa's defiance to win nailbiter in Kolkata

• Press Association
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 18 February 2010 11.16 GMT
• Article history

India's Harbhajan Singh celebrates after taking the wicket of South Africa's Jean Paul Duminy. The spinner took five wickets in the tourists' second innings. Photograph: Stringer/India/Reuters

Harbhajan Singh took five wickets as India secured a dramatic innings and 58-run victory on the final day of the second Test against South Africa at Kolkata.

India's victory at Eden Gardens tied the two-Test series at 1-1 and retained their place at the top of the International Cricket Council rankings.

India, starting the day needing seven more wickets for victory, chipped away steadily at South Africa's line-up but Hashim Amla provided another twist in a match that ebbed and flowed with a brilliant, unbeaten 127.

Amla – who took the man of the match award and man of the series awards for centuries in each innings at Eden Gardens and 490 in total for once out – had raised hopes of a draw for South Africa in a last-wicket stand with Morne Morkel (12) that had spanned more than 20 overs and was reminiscent of the defiance England had shown against in their recent series, but Harbhajan returned to snare Morkel with around 15 minutes remaining in the day.

Having already lost over a day to rain and bad light, India suffered another blow before play resumed as their strike bowler Zaheer Khan was forced to sit out the final three sessions due to a leg muscle strain sustained during play yesterday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni opened with the part-time spinner Virender Sehwag and the fast bowler Ishant Sharma, but shuffled his bowlers around and soon had spinners operating from both ends.

Harbhajan and the leg-spinner Amit Mishra stuck admirably to the task, striking a probing line, but were thwarted for more than an hour in an extended morning session by Amla and Ashwell Prince, who made 23.

Amla, on 49 overnight, went past the half-century mark and had painstakingly constructed a 47-run stand with Prince before the latter was dismissed by Harbhajan. The off-spinner had the out-of-form left-hand batsman in all sorts of trouble and eventually removed him with a ball that was pitched just outside off, Prince chipping carelessly to Ishant at mid-off.

Mishra then claimed his third scalp, trapping AB De Villiers (three) plumb in front with a googly while he played down the wrong line and the Proteas were still 183 runs behind at lunch, but with only five wickets in hand.

India began the afternoon session with vigour and Harbhajan had JP Duminy dismissed for six when the batsman rocked back to defend a delivery that was pushed slightly quicker through the air, misjudged the line completely and was hit on the back pad right in front.

South Africa were still 175 behind at that stage and Amla, the last recognised batsman, was left waging a lone battle alongside the tail.

Dale Steyn went quickly, leg before to Harbhajan who had shifted his line of attack from over to around the stumps but Wayne Parnell (22), showing a far better technique against the spinners than most of the middle-order batsmen, stalled India's attack but was let off on 14 when Suresh Raina, on the field for the injured Gautam Gambhir, grassed a catch at fourth slip.

Amla had moved into the 90s with consecutive boundaries off Ishant and raised his ninth Test century and third of the series with another off Mishra, who had shared the second new ball. Parnell, however, was extracted in the fourth over after the tea interval, momentarily losing composure and handing Ishant his first success despite a strong showing from the medium-pacer.

Parnell went tamely, chipping a full delivery straight to Harbhajan at mid-on, his dismissal ending a stubborn eighth-wicket stand that had yielded 70.

Paul Harris (four) hung around for a while, negotiating 24 deliveries, but his resistance too was ended by Ishant, as he perished to an edge.

Morkel then joined Amla and India were put under severe pressure as the pair stood firm. Even Sachin Tendulkar, who rarely bowls these days following a shoulder injury, twirled his arm without success.

But Harbhajan eventually trapped Morkel in front, sparking wild celebrations. The spinner finished with five for 59, while Mishra took three for 78.

Amla was named man of the match though. He finished the series with an average of 494 – the second highest, behind Wally Hammond, in the history of Test cricket.

"India v South Africa" second Testn | in pictures

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/8515926.stm

WOLF to provide SaaS solution to SEDS

WOLF to provide SaaS solution to SEDS

By siliconindia news bureau

Saturday,30 January 2010, 00:34 hrs

Print

Forward

Bangalore: WOLF Frameworks, a Cloud Computing, Platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) venture, is now the official support for Social Education and Development Society (SEDS)- an NGO based in the drought-prone Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh. SEDS has developed back office SaaS solution called Census Information Management Solution (CIMS), using WOLF based SaaS platform that generates Unique Identification Number (UID) for more than 40,000 users.

Due to the lack of a suitable IT solution in the past, SEDS utilized a disconnected system consisting of standalone database and several spreadsheets for collecting data. Sunny Ghosh, CEO, WOLF Communications explained, "Manual methods for data analysis were time consuming and error prone and the size of their master repository runs into millions too. WOLF took up the challenge of providing a complete online SaaS solution for it."

SEDS' operations consist of conducting different development programmes dealing with women empowerment, environment restoration, education, health, HIV/AIDS awareness and Clean Development Mechanism which are followed up by regular surveys. These surveys track real-time population, resource and programme statistics and a road-map of how their programme is working, the channelization of funds/efforts and the resultant success or failure of programmes.

"We have been serving rural population and under developed community for the past 30 years. To this successfully, we rely on data, its relationships and analytics heavily. We did door-to-door surveys. WOLF Platform helped in quick automation, secured access with statistics and the ability to generate UID for more than 40,000 members' database. This information will now help us and our donors to serve each and every individual with better products to improve their livelihood," said Manil Jayasena Joshua, CEO, SEDS.

WOLF partnered SEDS to create CIMS, a customized web based 128-bit secured SaaS solution that captures SEDS data and one specific programme process uniquely and generates analytical reports. CIMS allows SEDS to collect and relate-consolidate data into a central repository and automates the process of data analysis, presenting reports and charts on different metrics at the click of a button. It also generates UID which helps to locate and track individual data. CIMS also brings visibility to SEDS through auto-emails, alerts, RSS feeds and publishing content on the web.

Sunny Ghosh stressed on the need to make IT available to untapped sections. He added that CIMS has multiple benefiters-technologies, SEDS, donors, census and the government.

via:http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/WOLF_to_provide_SaaS_solution_to_SEDS_-nid-65024-cid--sid-.html

Install these nine programs right away to make the best use of internet

By Chris Gaylord Staff Writer for The Christian Science Monitor / January 7, 2010

’Tis the season for a new computer. Whether Santa sneaked a PC under the tree or you’ve decided to install Windows 7 onto an older machine, millions of Americans this month will be booting up a fresh start.

What better time to get your computer on a healthy diet of lean but powerful software and to throw out the bloated junk food that comes preinstalled on many machines? Here are some free programs that’ll help your new PC chug along for many winters to come.

(Disclaimer: While most of the Monitor’s software suggestions cover both PCs and Macs, Apple fans will need to sit this article out.)

Clean sweep: A lot of new computers come loaded up with software that you’ll likely never use. This clutter, often called bloatware or crapware, pays its way onto your PC in the hope that you’ll buy full versions later. However, the junk can also bog down your computer. Winnowing out these stowaways should be your first move. PCDecrapifier.com has a free download – $5 donation is suggested – that automatically rounds up many of these unwanted programs and deletes them. Now you really have a clean start.

Free protection: To make sure no other gremlins slip aboard, consider downloading security software right away. For-pay software often feels safer, but there are several perfectly adequate free options. This year, Avast surpassed most antivirus guards as one of the Web’s best. Another cyber-superhero, Malwarebytes, helps sniff out spyware and malicious code. Together, the two programs are quite a team.

Getting to the fun part faster: Brand-new PCs can be equal parts exciting and bothersome. Your (let’s hope) more powerful computer opens up new doors for entertaining software. But the clean slate will demand an afternoon – or perhaps an entire weekend – of waiting for programs to install. Ninite.com frees up your day with its set-it-and-forget-it queue.

The site has handpicked a few dozen of the best free programs – browsers, instant-messaging apps, and security software (including Avast and Malwarebytes). Click which applications you want, and Ninite creates a customized package that downloads and installs each of the desired programs. Once you’ve hit “go,” walk away. Ninite will do the rest.

If Internet Explorer is your default Web browser, this could be a great chance to try Firefox instead. The independent browser is faster and arguably safer, since more nefarious programmers seem to target Microsoft’s Explorer. Interested? Add it to your Ninite queue.

While perusing Ninite, consider tossing in iTunes, the sometimes slow but undoubtedly powerful music player and online store; Skype, the telephonelike service that lets you make calls without pesky phone bills; Google Earth, the amazing map application; and Hulu’s desktop app, which offers current and classic TV shows and movies free of charge.

via:http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Tech-Culture/2010/0107/Got-a-new-computer-Install-these-nine-programs-right-away

For "Olympic Games", "London dreams" of a "Cloud castle"

In this artist’s conception of the Cloud, visitors walk – and cyclists ride – up spiral ramps. Real-time information about the 2012 Games will be projected onto the spheres – if the project gets off the ground.

Courtesy of The Cloud Project

Called simply “the Cloud,” the monument would consist of two slender towers rising hundreds of feet into the air. Atop the twin spires float digital displays and viewing platforms for the public, who would climb up by foot or bicycle using spiral ramps wrapped around one of the towers. The summit would also feature giant inflated plastic spheres, some of which visitors could enter. Real-time information about the Games and the surroundings would be displayed by Google.
In an emerging century with more and more online experience, the Cloud aims to form a connection from the virtual world to the real world, “from the world of bits to the physical world, the world of atoms,” says Carlo Ratti, head of the SENSEable Cities Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., and a member of the international team working on the project. Other players include Arup, the architectural firm that designed the Sydney Opera House. Umberto Eco, the Italian philosopher and popular novelist, is serving as an adviser.
The Cloud team wants both the finished product, and the way it is conceived and financed, to be revolutionary. While traditional monuments emphasize their grandeur and permanence by expressing a sense of mass and weight, the Cloud “upturns the monumental tradition” with its airy, almost ephemeral design, says Sarah Goldhagen, architecture critic for The New Republic.
“I think the idea is incredibly cool,” she says. Ms. Goldhagen, who also edits an academic journal on modern architecture, is one of three experts the Monitor asked to look at the plans for the Cloud, which are posted online at raisingthecloud
.com.
The Cloud is designed to be “carbon neutral,” creating the energy it needs to operate from the use of regenerative brakes (similar to those used on hybrid cars). While visitors put in the initial effort by climbing the monument, the Cloud scheme then produces electricity as an elevator lowers visitors back to the ground. Solar panels will also generate electricity.
An Internet-based effort
The design team, which has met only once, last summer, includes members in Britain, Germany, Italy, Australia, and the United States. It mostly works over the Internet with little formal structure, though Professor Ratti at MIT is acting as a coordinator.
The project is among a handful being considered by London Mayor Boris Johnson to become an official part of the London Games.
But even if the Cloud isn’t chosen by the mayor, its designers plan to find an appropriate venue in London in which to build it in time for the Games. “We can build our CLOUD with £5 million [$8 million] or £50 million,” says Ratti on the group’s website. “The flexibility of the structural system will allow us to tune the size of the CLOUD to the level of funding that is reached.”
The group will raise funds via the Internet using social-media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
“We would like the Cloud to become a symbol of global ownership built through a bottom-up fundraising effort,” Ratti says on the website, akin to the effort used by President Obama’s campaign to collect a large number of small donations online.
The idea of a cloud also evokes “cloud computing,” the concept of storing, manipulating, and sharing data online rather than in an individual computer. Ratti also uses the high-tech buzzword “crowdsourcing” to indicate how he expects a wide number of people to contribute thinking and funding to the effort.
Google says it will supply content for the Cloud’s digital displays, using Google Trends, Google Maps, and its social-networking feature Google Latitude. “For instance, we could provide a custom feed of (aggregated and anonymous) searches made by Londoners during the Olympics to give a real time ‘barometer’ of the city’s interests and mood,” reads a statement from the search-engine giant. In addition, Google promises free advertising for the project through its website and YouTube, including fundraising efforts.

|VIDEOS Jessie Logan

Mom Loses Daughter Over 'Sexting,'

jessie logan

Why has global warming paused? Water vapor may be in the answer.

A decline in stratospheric water vapor between 2000 and 2009 followed an apparent increase between 1980 and 2000, a team of scientists has found. That finding may have implications for global warming.

Labourers look out of a steam train transporting coal at a power plant in Shenyang, Liaoning province January 6. A decline in stratospheric water vapor and increase in sulfate aerosols from the rising number of coal-fired power plants in China may explain a decade-long plateau in global warming.


By Peter N. Spotts Staff writer

A decade-long plateau in global warming appears to have occurred in large part because the stratosphere – the layer of atmosphere that few but airliners enter – got drier.
Skip to next paragraph


That’s an explanation by a team of atmospheric scientists from the United States and Germany. They’ve studied trends in stratospheric water vapor over the past 30 years and calculated the effects of those trends on temperatures.

A decline in stratospheric water vapor between 2000 and 2009 followed an apparent increase between 1980 and 2000, according to balloon and satellite measurements that the team used. The decline slowed the long-term growth in global average temperatures by some 25 percent, compared with the warming one could expect from rising concentrations of greenhouse gases alone, the team estimates.

"There's not a lot of water in the stratosphere. It's extremely dry," says Susan Solomon, an atmospheric scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo., who led the team. "But it packs a wallop" in terms of its climatic effects, she says.

Other factors probably played a role as well in the temperature plateau, the team acknowledges.

Another contributor could have been sulfate aerosols from the rising number of coal-fired power plants in China, point out researchers such as Drew Shindell, with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York.

Still, he and others agree, the new results indicate that stratospheric water vapor, especially in the lowest regions of the stratosphere, can have a significant impact on global average temperature trends when viewed in decade-long time frames.

Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. By some estimates, it accounts for anywhere from 36 percent to 85 percent of the atmosphere's greenhouse effect, depending on whether clouds are included.

But the vast majority of that water vapor resides in the troposphere, which is the layer below the stratosphere. This is where the most of the day-to-day weather – and over long periods, climate – activity takes place.

Despite claims in some circles that global warming is over, the past decade was the warmest on record globally, according to records compiled by the GISS. Four of the 10 years were in a statistical tie for second place for the distinction of warmest year on record.

Why Sony thinks the Apple iPad will be good for the e-book market

By Matthew Shaer / January 29, 2010

The Apple iPad is good news for the book industry – on this much, most analysts agree. But is the Apple iPad good news for manufacturers of e-reading devices? Depends on whom you ask. In a statement to reporters yesterday, Steve Haber, President of Sony’s Digital Reading Division, welcomed the arrival of the Apple iPad, which he said would help facilitate the shift from dead tree books to e-texts.



The Sony Reader. Steve Haber of Sony has welcomed the arrival of the Apple iPad.



“The introduction of another mobile device, which includes digital reading as part of its functionality, is a good thing for the digital book business,” Haber said. “Mobile devices with reading capabilities will play a key role in the paradigm shift from analog to digital content. At Sony, we’re focused on devices optimized for digital reading and believe that digital books sales will surpass print sales within five years, if not sooner.”

The Apple iPad, in other words, will perform something of the same function as iTunes and the iPod: the device will widen the market, and help usher in an age of point-and-click sales. For Haber, it doesn't yet matter that the Apple iPad is technically a competitor. It matters only that the Apple iPad can help increase awareness and consumption of e-books.

Haber has always been something of a cheerleader for e-reading. In a Monitor article published in December, he predicted a major boom in e-reader sales. "It’s been building up for a year or so, but going into the [2009] holiday season, it’s suddenly mass exposure, multiple players in the market, multiple players rumored to be coming into the market," he said at the time. "And that’s what drives innovation. Every year from now on is going to be a leap ahead.”

Of course, not everyone is so willing to cheer on the Apple iPod. As we have reported, Amazon, the maker of the popular Kindle e-reader, has been on the defensive in recent weeks, announcing a boffo royalty deal for self-publishing authors and a Kindle platform for third-party developers. Both moves seem intended to undercut the capabilities of the Apple iPad.

When Apple released the iPod, it drowned out competition from all the other MP3 devices. The iPhone, on the other hand, helped pave the way for a bevy of next-gen smart phones. The new iPad

Do you think the Apple iPad will help strengthen the e-book market? Check out our iPad coverage page for more on the new tablet, and then drop us a line in the comments section or on Twitter.

--
harps

The full moon|The full moon pictures|The wolf moon|

pictures of full moon is seen in Islamabad, Pakistan on Jan. 29. The full moon this weekend, called the wolf moon, was the brightest and biggest of the year.

Apple takes a bruising over iPad name

By Glenn Chapman (AFP) – 10 hours ago

SAN FRANCISCO — As Apple takes a bruising over the moniker of its latest creation some technology analysts are shrugging off the fuss over the name to focus on what's inside the iPad: a speedy new chip.

Critics and fans have been filling the 60-day void between this week's unveiling of what Apple chief executive Steve Jobs hailed as a "revolutionary" device and the time the first models will begin shipping globally.

By Friday, talk of the iPad's technical strengths and weaknesses was drowned out by comic awe rooted in Apple picking a name seemingly fit for a feminine hygiene gadget.

"It's always those kinds of words that are suggestive of feminine menstruation," said Michael Cronan, whose eponymous branding specialty firm in California named Amazon's Kindle electronic reader and the TiVo television digital recorder.

"Automatically, women frame up things that way."

Ironically, while being mocked about the name, Apple was also taking hits for not being the first to stamp it on a product.

Japan's Fujitsu says it launched an iPad years ago, and the name has also been used for small engines, bra inserts, and even adult nappies.

Fujitsu Ltd. said its US subsidiary in 2002 released the "iPad," a sleek handheld multimedia device used by retail store clerks to keep inventory data, scan barcodes and manage business operations.

Fujitsu's trademark application for the "iPad" name with the US Patent and Trademark Office is still pending, said Fujitsu spokesman Masao Sakamoto in Tokyo.

Apple has been embroiled in trademark disputes with other companies before, including Cisco Systems, which launched its "iPhone" before Apple. The two companies settled the dispute in 2007, agreeing to share the name.

Cronan is among those who think the iPad name hubbub is a temporary "tabloidy" tempest and that people will come to accept it the same way they have gotten over referring to digital lock interfaces as "key pads."

"At the end of the day, we will get beyond it," Cronan said. "It is much ado about nothing. Apple gets so much rank in the world that I think people intrinsically try to find a crack in their armor."

The underlying issue in the controversy is that there really wasn't a name for the creation that fits as aptly as iPad, according to the brand expert.

The "i" lead-in is so associated with Apple that it is arguably a trademark in itself.Related article:US holocaust survivors slam iPhone app

And "Pad" is single syllable, easy to pronounce, speaks to what the tablet computer is, and evokes thoughts of Apple's culture-shifting and winning iPod line, Cronan explained.

"It's a natural," Cronan said of Apple's choice. "Let's get on to enjoying what it's going to do."

Apple, as is its style, isn't commenting on iPad criticisms or rampant online sharing of an old Mad TV television comedy skit about a fictitious Apple iPad tampon.

"If Apple didn't have any idea of the repercussions of this, that would be surprising," Cronan said. "I am voting with them on this that they know what they are doing and people will not dwell on it."

Being overlooked is that the iPad has Apple's first microprocessor, an impressive chip that promises to spread to the cores of all of the firm's mobile devices, said analyst Roger Kay of Endpoint Technologies Associates.

"I love the fact that Mad TV had that bit in the can well before Apple thought of using the name," Kay said. "It was fun to see Apple stumble, but the focus is more aptly on the chip."

The chip at the heart of the iPad delivers graphics and processing capabilities that typically require multiple microprocessors, meaning less power and space are used for similar performance.

"That is a real eyebrow raiser," Kay said. "They have gotten a lot of functionality into one chip. The main guys at Intel and AMD are still working on that."

The chip comes from innovations at small microprocessor design firm P.A. Semi, which Apple bought in 2008.

"This is a huge deal," John Gruber of daringfireball.net wrote in a blog post. "I got about 20 blessed minutes of time using the iPad demo units Apple had at the event... and if I had to sum up the device with one word, that word would be 'fast.'"

Kay expects the new chip technology to spread to all of Apple's mobile devices and, perhaps, even its line of Macintosh computers.

"Apple could potentially kiss Intel goodbye," Kay said of the US chip giant on which Apple currently depends. "I don't see any reason why not."

via:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hxRBWxJieHevkznnf11jdChHI60Q

Apple iPad: no UK price until launch

Apple says it will not reveal UK pricing for iPad until its launch at the end of March

• Charles Arthur, technology editor and Richard Wray, communications editor
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 January 2010 17.43 GMT
• Article history

While Steve Jobs has announced US pricing for the iPad, Apple is keeping the UK prices under wraps untl the launch in March. Photograph: Ryan Anson/AFP/Getty

Apple has surprised would-be buyers of its new iPad touchscreen computer, saying it will not announce UK prices before it launches at the end of March.

Although it announced US prices for all six versions of the touchscreen "tablet" device with and without 3G connectivity at the launch on Wednesday night by Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs, the UK office said today that there will be no UK prices offered until the launch, expected in 60 days' time – or 90 days for the 3G versions.

However, the MacWorld magazine website takes an "educated guess" at UK pricing for the iPad, which it predicts will range from £388 to £591 for the Wi-Fi model, and £490 to £693 for the Wi-FI and 3G model.

The iPad is a 9.7in tablet computer with a virtual keyboard which can surf the web, do email, display ebooks and play video. US prices start at $499 for a basic version with Wi-Fi wireless networking but no 3G connectivity, rising to $829 for a 3G version with 64 gigabytes of storage. However iPad users in the US will have to pay separately for 3G data plans being sold separately by Apple's exclusive mobile partner there, AT&T, which already supplies the iPhone there.

Mobile phone companies in the UK – O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone – are looking to strike similar deals in Europe ahead of a launch later in the year. The Guardian understands from multiple source that no choice has been made.

Apple initially sold the iPhone through exclusive partners in the US, UK, France and Germany, but for the iPad the British mobile phone networks are not expecting Apple to offer exclusivity. None was willing to comment on the iPad.

Andrew Harrison, UK chief executive of the Carphone Warehouse, Europe's largest independent mobile phone retailer, commented: "To me, the really interesting thing is what we are seeing is devices designed with how the consumer uses the internet very much in mind, rather than just a computer that was made for business use trying to fit the consumer."

Bloggers and commentators had mixed reactions to the device. It cannot run Adobe's Flash software, used by many advertisers and games companies online to create eye-catching motion on web pages, which some see as essential to web browsing. Many women were dismayed by the name: the San Francisco Examiner pointed out that "for North American women the word 'pad' means but one thing, a sanitary napkin". But Nick Carr, author of The Big Switch, about the move towards cloud computing, described the launch as "the day the PC died", saying that Apple "wants to deliver the killer device for the cloud era, a machine that will define computing's new age in the way that the Windows PC defined the old age."

Without a price ahead of the launch it may be difficult for retailers to judge the public's interest – and so whether the device will sell in large or small numbers. Amazon's Kindle, which includes mobile networking in the price, only launched recently in the UK, and Amazon has never disclosed sales numbers, though it is reckoned to have sold only about 500,000 to the end of last year.

The decision to keep the UK price under wraps is unusual for Apple, which usually announces UK pricing simultaneously with any launch, and could either indicate concern about exchange rate fluctuations, or a desire to keep people intrigued about the device, or that non-US networks are seeking to sell it with some sort of subsidy.

Already several UK mobile phone companies subsidise the cost of laptops to persuade customers to sign up for long-term mobile broadband contracts. Anyone signing up to a two-year mobile broadband deal with T-Mobile at £40 a month, for instance, gets a free Sony Vaio laptop worth £499.

However, Apple has forced AT&T to give up persuading customers to sign long-term contracts in order to subsidise the iPad; instead, it will effectively be available on what in Europe would be seen as a 30-day rolling Sim-only contract such as those offered by O2 and Vodafone.

"It does not look as though it has the traditional subsidy model," said Harrison. "If you put Wi-Fi and 3G in it, it is actually more expensive not less expensive."

In a note relating AT&T's financial prospects following the news, Jonathan Schildkraut, analyst at Jefferies & Co investment bank said the tariffs are "in line with the current data add-on options available with voice packages, and well below the roughly $60 plans currently offered by wireless carriers for a laptop card. The prepaid plan can be activated directly from the iPad and, because there is no contract, can be canceled at anytime."

Meanwhile anyone who already has a wireless broadband "dongle" under a long-term contract and is thinking about installing its SIM card into an iPad will be disappointed. The iPad is the first mass-market mobile device to use micro-Sim cards, which are smaller than the current range of Sim cards and were designed for small consumer gadgets such as Birmingham-based Lok8u's range of wireless-enabled wrist watches.

The iPad is also likely to prove a major headache for makers of similar devices, especially Taiwan's Asus which recently announced plans for its own tablet, and Nokia which last year unveiled a "booklet" computer with built-in 3G. There are also understood to be several tablet computers running Google's Android software in the works, with France's Archos rumoured to be planning to release one in March.

apple ipad | ipad new apple | ipad pictuers | ipad pics | ipad featureshttp://www.apple.com/ipad/features/

Safari

The large Multi-Touch screen on iPad lets you see web pages as they were meant to be seen — one page at a time. With vibrant color and sharp text. So whether you’re looking at a page in portrait or landscape, you can see everything at a size that’s actually readable. And with iPad, navigating the web has never been easier or more intuitive. Because you use the most natural pointing device there is: your finger. Scroll through a page just by flicking your finger up or down on the screen. Or pinch to zoom in or out on a photo. There’s also a thumbnail view that shows all your open pages in a grid, to let you quickly move from one page to the next.

Mail

See and touch your email in ways you never could before. In landscape, you get a split-screen view showing both an opened email and the messages in your inbox. To see the opened email by itself, turn iPad to portrait, and the email automatically rotates and fills the screen. No matter which orientation you use, you can scroll through your mail, compose a new email using the large, onscreen keyboard, or delete messages with nothing more than a tap and a flick. If someone emails you a photo, you can see it right in the message. You can also save the photos in an email directly to the built-in Photos app. And iPad works with all the most popular email providers, including MobileMe, Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Hotmail, and AOL.

Photos

With its crisp, vibrant display and unique software features, iPad is an extraordinary way to enjoy and share your photos. For example, the Photos app displays the photos in an album as though they were in a stack. Just tap the stack, and the whole album opens up. From there, you can flip through your pictures, zoom in or out, or watch a slideshow. You can even use your iPad as a beautiful digital photo frame while it’s is docked or charging. And there are lots of ways to import photos: You can sync them from your computer, download them from an email, or import them directly from your camera using the optional Apple Camera Connection Kit.

• Star Trek is available on iTunes.

Video

The large, high-resolution screen makes iPad perfect for watching any kind of video: from HD movies and TV shows to podcasts and music videos. Switch between widescreen and full screen with a double-tap. Because iPad is essentially one big screen, with no distracting keypad or buttons, you feel completely immersed in whatever you’re watching.

YouTube

The YouTube app organizes videos so they’re easy to see and navigate. To watch one, just tap it. When you’re watching in landscape, the video automatically plays in full screen. And with its high-resolution display, iPad makes the latest HD YouTube videos look positively amazing.

iPod

With the iPod app, all your music is literally at your fingertips. Browse by album, song, artist, or genre with a simple flick. To play a song, just tap it. iPad even displays album art at full size. Listen to your music with the powerful built-in speaker or with wired or Bluetooth wireless headphones.

iTunes

A tap of the iTunes store icon lets you browse and buy music, TV shows, and podcasts — or buy and rent movies — wirelessly, right from your iPad. Choose from thousands of movies and TV shows (in both standard and high definition), along with thousands of podcasts and millions of songs. Preview songs before you buy them. Or just sync iPad with the content you already have in your iTunes library on your Mac or PC.

App Store

iPad runs almost 140,000 apps from the App Store. Everything from games to business apps and more. And new apps designed specially for iPad are highlighted, so you can easily find the ones that take full advantage of its features. Just tap the App Store icon on the screen to browse, buy, and download apps wirelessly, right to the iPad.

iBooks

The iBooks app is a great new way to read and buy books.* Download the free app from the App Store and buy everything from classics to best sellers from the built-in iBookstore. Once you’ve bought a book, it’s displayed on your Bookshelf. Just tap it to start reading. The high-resolution, LED-backlit screen displays everything in sharp, rich color, so it’s easy to read, even in low light.

Maps

See more of the world with high-resolution satellite and street view images. Even see topography with the new terrain view. You can also search for a nearby business type (“Restaurant,” for example), then tap the business to see the route and directions from your current location.

Notes

With its expansive display and large, onscreen keyboard, iPad makes jotting down notes easy. In landscape view, you see not only a note-taking page but a list of all your notes. iPad even circles the current note in red, so you can see where you are at a glance.

Calendar

iPad makes it easy to stay on schedule by displaying day, week, month, or list views of your calendar. You can see an overview of a whole month or the details of a single day. iPad even shows multiple calendars at once, so you can manage work and family schedules at the same time.

Contacts

The Contacts app on iPad makes finding names, numbers, and other important information quicker and easier than ever before. A new view lets you see both your complete contacts list and a single contact simultaneously. Need directions? Tap an address inside a contact and iPad automatically opens Maps.

Home Screen

The Home Screen gives you one-tap access to everything on iPad. You can customize your Home Screen by adding your favorite apps and websites or using your own photos as the background. And you can move apps around to arrange them in any order you want.

Spotlight Search

Spotlight Search allows you to search across iPad and all of its built-in apps, including Mail, Contacts, Calendar, iPod, and Notes. It even searches apps you’ve downloaded from the App Store. So no matter what you’re looking for, it’s never more than a few taps away.

via:http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/