The iPod Nano 1 GB

Almost Everyone must'ave heard about the sleek li'l iPod Nano. It had debuted sometime last year and was an instant Hit! Altough yours truly had though about purchasing it, the steep price was a deterrent!

And now, Apple has Launched the iPod Nano's 1GB Variant, priced at a relatively 'less' 149$…which translates into around eight thousand bucks, if not more. So does that make it a steal? I Think not. Firstly, there's the 'lightened' capacity…Only 1 GB, which would hold around 250 Songs. This, is okay for most audiophiles I guess….but the availability of 'bigger' players for much less than what Apple Offers is a deterrent.Particularly those of iRiver & Creative are much more lucrative! Secondly, there's the competition from the Companies that I've mentioned. Thirdly, the Price. An average music lover (like me, for instance) may not give in to temptation and get it just for the 'sleekness' value….me would want something more for what I'm paying!

So, the iPod Shuffle is a better bargain I'd think! The company has cut down prices of both the 512MB and 1GB models.They will now be available for only Rs 4,600 for the 512MB model, and Rs 6,500 for the 1GB model!

Funny Videos

No wonder the Cyberspace is such a cool place to hangout! Much better than any neihbourhood cafe or a Hip-Hop joint…….sometimes atleast! I viewed some pretty interesting stuff….two of which I'll share with y'all…

First up is the 'Methinks-it's-an-Elaborate-Hoax' Videos about the 'Upcoming' Technologically advanced Laptops from Lenevo. Some marketing gimmickers have created This Website that tells about the 'guy' having a friend who worked at Lenovo, who dumped some tapes with him…and which *horror-of-horrors* contained some 'mindblowing' stuff thatz brewing inside Lenovo's Labs…..One, a Laptop with a 'projector' above the screen that projects a holographic 3-D image of *you* working away feversihly making onlookers (esp. bosses) believe that the d00d is working! Yeah Sure! Wonder why the guy working at it was really working and didn't have another holographic image to make ppl believe that he was 'working on another holographic projection device'!!!

The site also has some story about a Lappy that can 'Fly' and land on its own when accidentally dropped!! And yet another one that 'automatically raises a 'shield' around it when it 'senses' some liquid is gonna spilled onto it!!! Sure…….What next? Laptops that close the flap 'automatically' when they 'sense' that the guy working on it is NOT the owner of it! 

Another one I gotta saw (not the first time, I admit) was the Bill Gates Video in which he experiences a BSOD! Quite Hillarious, I must say….Thanks to TechBlabber for the Link. You can Watch the Funny Video Here

Happy Ugadi….

Today is Ugadi-The Telugu New Year. Wishing everyone a Happy Ugadi…..“Vyaya Nama Savathsramu Subhakankshalu” ……

Ugadi marks the beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar with a change in the moon’s orbit. It is a day when mantras are chanted and predictions made for the new year. Traditionally, the panchangasravanam or listening to the yearly calendar was done at the temples or at the Town square.

As children, we would eagerly await this day as we would be wearing new clothes and have sweets to eat et al..The day would start with having some “Ugaadi Pachchadi”

The Telugu and Kannada people celebrate the festival with great fanfare; gatherings of the extended family and a sumptuous feast are de rigueur. The day, however, begins with ritual showers followed by prayers, and then the eating of a specific mixture of -

• Neem leaves for Bitterness
• Jaggery for Sweetness
• Raw Mango for Vagaru
• Tamarind Juice for sour
• Chillis for Hot
• Salt for salty taste

This mixture, called “Ugadi Pachhadi” in Telugu and “Bevu-Bella” in Kannada, symbolizes the fact that life is a mixture of pleasure and pain, which should be accepted together and with equanimity. Certain communities in Andhra Pradesh prepare a more elaborate sauce, called Ugadi Pachchadi, which is a paste of tamarind, jaggery, mango, salt, pepper, neem leaves etc. The symbolism and significance of the preparation is the same.

Getting Firefox

Though its been a while since the Mozilla
foundation has released the ‘Update’ to Firefox, Ver. 1.5.0.1, I
haven’t yet downloaded it ! Am getting it right now and shall see how
it stands up to the earlier ‘Stable’ version i.e. 1.0.7 – which I am
using currently.

If you’re interested, you can get it Here.

Am Moving….

Itz been quite a while (16 Months to be precise) since I have
beenstaying at my Folks. It has been a pleasant stay throughout and
both I and they would be missing each other hence….for I am moving
out to stay with a friend in the Quaint locality of Begumpet.

After a few weekends of hectic searching & parleying, we managed
to get a small portion in front of the Syamlam Bldg. which is quite a
landmark of sorts on the SP Road.

For the record, I shall be staying bang in between two of the most
happening malls in Hyderabad-Shoppers’ Stop & Lifestyle. Lotsa
‘eye-candy’ to be had..I’m sure……

Dell Acquires Alienware

Had read a few days back that Dell had acquired Alienware, a co. that is well-known for its Gaming-Segment PC’s. I have friends who work in Dell and they were not too sure what the deal meant for the co. but I guess itz part of a strategy to ramp up the PC division in all segments-Business,Home,Luxury & Gaming; The last mentioned, of course a growing market thatz seen leaps & bounds of growth, esp over the past few years.

I still remember reading about an Alienware Aurora which looked soopah-cool.There was an article about the gaming Fraternity going Gaga over these sleek n overtly-performance-oriented PC’s and how serious & non-serious gamers alike sploshed up obscene amounts of dough to get them onto their desks.Most Gamers n Geeks are Overclocking maniacs and I think that these breed of PC’s come Overclocked and that too at insane specs! I also seem to remember that these PC’s encompass some bleeding-edge technology ! One for the conossieurs, no doubt.

 

 

What has all of this to do with moi blog? one may ask…..but hey…isn’t Technoogy all-encompassing? Who knows, some years down the line, I may have an Alienware Lappy running some high-fangled games & running at insane speeds!! And since dell has already has a well-spread market here,it may also bring Alienware Lappy’s also to our shores! Our Office already has Dell Deskstops…so in the near future, we may have the lappys…

The article I read was from TechTree, a leading tech Journal . One can follow the Link to read the full article. Also of interest may be the Transcript of Aleinware’s chief, about the acquisition, at ExtremeTech.

 

Renault Rulez in Sepang

Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso came 1st and 2nd at the Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang. Theirs was the First Renault 1-2 since 1982!!! Though Jenson Button was looking strong to finish second behind Pole-sitter Fisichella, a superlative Srategy by Renault saw Alonso move into the 2nd place. They sure are the team to beat this year!!  Though I didn’t catch the Qualifying, I was pretty determined to watch the race and I did it at a Salon  

And as was the case with the Qualifying in Bahrain, my hopes were dashed the moment I saw Kimi Raikkonen Spin off into the gravel on the First lap itself!! The race now held a mere academic interest for me and I gladly skipped the latter half of it. Though I saw the highlights later, i think it was a so-so race. Noteworthy moments included Massa’s run from dead last to 5th (akin to Kimi’s run at Bahrain) and the fact that he finished ahead of his illustrious teammate Michael Shumacher was impressive. Also impressive was Jacques Villeneuve’s resolve and his verve in passing Trulli was too good!

Poor Kimi, Bad luck seems to be his permanent companion…atleast most of the times if not always!! He had this to say regarding his Spin-Off:

“I am very disappointed because I had a great car set-up and very good race strategy. I think it was fairly obvious that Christian Klien made a pretty fundamental mistake and ran into the back of me at turn five, breaking my rear suspension in the process. A positive side, the team has had good race reliability in the first two races and I am already looking forward to Melbourne in two weeks.”

Ice Age II

After the thingummyjig about the Sequel to X-Men II, here comes some tidbits of the sequel of the Hit animated movie, Ice Age. For the Uninitiated, Ice Age was a sleepy animated movie that came out in 2002 and though not a rip-roaring success, was a moderate hit. It featured a Mammoth-Manfred ( Voiced by Ray Romano, of Everybody Loves Raymond Fame), a Sloth-Sid (John Leguizamo) & a Sabre-Toothed-Tiger – Diego(Denis Leary) and their adventures in reuniting a human infant with his father after his mother dies. Having Rib-Tickling innuendoes and wiesecracks, particularly between the ill-fitting ‘duo’ of Sid & Manfred, the movie also had some memorable Sentimental undertones.

I happened to get the CD’s of Ice Age I with a PC magazine and have seen the movie an Umpteen number of times. Thoroughly engrossing & entertaining, I’d recommend it as a Must-Watch.

 

And the second Instalment of the movie: Ice Age: The Meltdown is ready for release this summer. Promising to be another entertainment-filled ride, the movie introduces a few new characters. Particularly Ellie-the female wooly mammoth & (I Suppose,the interest of Manfred) ably voiced by  Queen Latifah in her inimitable style.Also Credited is Jay Leno as ‘Fast Tony’.Remains to be seen what caharacter his will turn out to be.

The Synopsis on IMDB reads as:

Diego, Manny and Sid return in this sequel to the hit Ice Age. This time around the Ice Age is over and is starting to melt, which will destroy their valley. So they must unite and warn everyone about the situation.

What struck me particularly was the tagline, which reads as “Kiss Your Ice Goodbye” I’ve Included this in my list of Must-watch-summertime-movies.