Tuesday, September 30, 2008

32 dead in Chamunda Devi Temple Jodhpur rush

UPDATE: Death toll in Chamunda Temple Stampede rises to 147
32 dead in Chamunda Temple Jodhpur rush

The Chamunda Devi Temple in Palampur, in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, is one of the Hindu temples that is open to non-Hindus

Rumors of a landslide triggered panic among pilgrims who ran down a narrow mountain trail from the Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh, only to meet thousands of people walking up.

Monday, September 29, 2008

US Bailout Bill No Majority 228-205 votes

U.S. House of Representatives holding open vote on Wall St. bailout bill with "No" votes in majority 6:51pm BST

Dow briefly fell more than 700 points; biggest intra-day point drop ever

Bush drama backfires...US House of Representatives rejects $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill.
U.S. House of Representatives votes 228 to 205 to reject bailout bill
Bail out People not Banks!

Analyst reaction after House votes down bailout: "Even though we are seeing stocks paring some of their losses there is still disappointment and complete uncertainlty over what is going to happen."

Analyst reaction after House votes down bailout: "I can't believe they weren't able to come together and come up with a solution. ... I can't see what the upside is right now."

So, when military experts are against a war, the people support it. When financial experts are for a bailout the people oppose it
http://twitter.com/DanielBrewer

Glad the bailout was voted down, but scared about what happens now.
http://twitter.com/nateholbrook

Stop trying to SELL US ON THE Wall Street Bailout! We would rather take a blood bath than bail out Wall Street!
http://twitter.com/BeltwayScandal

The House dented the bailout!!! I'm prouder to be an American today.
http://twitter.com/NateDennison

YES!!!! The House has defeated the robber-baron's "bailout" bill!
http://twitter.com/shaktiboy

Oh snap! Bailout FAILS! House Republicans block vote! Bush is lame duck president! Own party throwing him under a bus as we speak!
http://twitter.com/eddo_likes_you


228 Against = 95 Democrats + 133 Republicans

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Scorpio-AT VLs and VLx variants price is 10 lakhs+

The launched the New Mahindra Scorpio-AT(Automatic) made at Nashik plant. The Scorpio-AT features in-built intelligent driving modes/SUV with fully automatic transmission...and 6 gears!


The technical specifications of New Mahindra Scorpio-VLx AT(Automatic) 8 seater are

  • m-Hawk engine
  • intellipar
  • Tyre-Tronics
  • 5-zone Cushion Suspension
  • Rain Sensor
  • Light Sensor
  • Immobiliser
  • Solar Glasses
  • Audio with support for CD,MP3 Player, Pen Drive and SD Cards...
  • Cruise Control and Audio Control
  • Smart Anti-Pitch Window

Other than banal features like Power Steering, Power Window, Central Locking there is a "creep feature" - The Scorpio AT can move ahead slowly on its own in traffic!

Visit MahindraScorpio.com

Monday, September 22, 2008

GATE 2009 gate iisc ernet.in

The All India Exam to get admission into Post-Gradate Courses Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2009 .

The reduced fee of Rs.100 for Online application is a good idea.
OFFLINE Application fee for General & OBC Rs. 1000
ONLINE Application fee for General & OBC Rs. 900

Offline Application forms for GATE 2009 purchased from some branches SBI/Canara Bank/ Punjab National Bank/Union Bank depending on your zone...


Postal address of different IIT Zones for GATE 2009, Question Paper Patters, Syllabus for GATE 2009 at http://gateonline.iisc.ernet.in/

ONLINE application for GATE 2009 should be filled and then submitted via post.
Last date for Online application form submission 24th October 2008
It should to reach Chairman, GATE of the Zone, the website of which has been used for making ONLINE registration before Wednesday, October 29, 2008. Please note Oct 29 is Monday!.

You will receive your admit card before 31st January 2009.
Date of the examination 08th February 2009 , Sunday on 147 cities.
GATE 2009 results will be announced on March 15, 2009 at 10:00 hrs. at GATE offices and on the websites of IISc and seven IITs.

With effect from GATE 2009, Information Technology (IT) students and Computer Science (CS) students should write same GATE 2009 Exam.
The name and subject code for CS/IT are Computer Science and Information Technology (CS).

Please note :
New GATE Question Papers format for GATE 2009.
In GATE 2009 exam
Duration: 3
Questions:60
Max Marks : 100
Type:Multiple Choice Question Only.
No. of Choices: 4
No. of Correct Choice:1
How to answer: Bubble correct choice in ORS.
There will be 0.33 negative marking for wrong answers in GATE 2009 Exam.

Google g-Phone T-Mobile G1 live.androidcommunity.com


September 23 2008: Google g-Phone based on Android platform released... The leaked line drawings of G-Phone are already flooding internet. Revealing a new google phone that will take the world by storm. The Google phone is going to be offered by T-Mobile, not Verizon. Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile unit is set to start selling a mobile phone based on Google Inc's Android in US.

This phone will be nice and one more thing this will be the only iphone killer. Google is looking beyond text ads as it seeks to make money from the increasing number of people who are turning to their cell phones to find information.
Android phones, using a Linux-based open source operating system, will allow users to tweak and customise their own user interface. This is limited in traditional Windows or Symbian based handsets.

Check out a travel guide for the Google phone platform "Android", based on localtion-based Wikipedia content. More info at http://www.wikitude.org.

The first mobile phone to use Google Inc's Android (code-named Dream) mobile operating software will cost $199. Any idea what the Google g-Phone Price in India will be if price in US is $199 ? If you can do Android application development you can make money to buy the Google g-phone for free.

Don’t forget that Android Community will be Live Blogging the T-Mobile event on Tuesday at 10:30 pm Indian Time. Be sure to tune in for the news as it happens!

Links to Global Blogs for Google Mobile Andriod Review

Links to this topic from Google Mobile Blog

The first Android-powered phone

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Countdown to Indian Real Estate Meltdown

Today is Nov 10.
he techies who led a hi-flying life till yesterday are in a state of uncertainty, as they don't know what would happen tomorrow. It was quite recently that IT major Satyam had laid off nearly 100 employees from its offices in Hyderabad. In Chennai too the company had terminated over 30 employees, saying that they may have 'fudged' bills after being relocated to Chennai from Hyderabad.
In Wipro nearly 1,000 employees have been given the marching order, while around 300 employees are under the scanner for non-performance.
In February, Tata Consultancy Services had asked nearly 500 'non-performers' to leave while IBM had asked about 700 Indian employees to leave, again on ground of non-performance.
More than 2,40,000 people lost their job in October only. Over the first 10 months of 2008, 1.2 million jobs have been lost, but tellingly, over half of those losses have occurred in just the past three months, briefing.com said.

Today is Oct 10.
ICICI Bank is bleeding.
IBN 13.43 -3.92 (-22.59%) 7.55B
HDB 62.27 -4.08 (-6.15%) 8.82B

The below post was made on 18th September.
Its recession and its time to countdown to Indian Real Estate Meltdown.
If Infy, Wipro, TCS and satyam continue with firing and layoffs people won't be able to pay EMI
INFY 34.10 -2.30 (-6.32%) 19.51B
WIT 9.69 -0.42 (-4.15%) 14.18B

Then the Indian banks ICICI and HDFC who have been fooling Indians will taste dirt soon.
IBN 23.44 -1.76 (-6.98%) 12.98B - ICICI Bank
HDB 77.59 -3.66 (-4.50%) 10.94B - HDFC Bank


Life doesn't have to be :( during recession...
Develop good habits.
Save more money.
Put your resources into good use.
Instead of going to hotel learn cooking.
Visit zoo.
Use CreditCard responsibly.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Belgian Grand Prix 4 Felipe Massa not Lewis Hamilton


Britian's Lewis Hamilton stripped off Belgian Grand Prix victory ... Brazil's Felipe Massa wins - FIA.

Hamilton Raikkonen Spa 2008 onboard camera
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=dWNN5W_B-Zk

Quotes by Lewis Hamilton
"It was an experience and a half," he said. "I could see Kimi ahead and after the second pit stop he was so far ahead and I was thinking how 'did he make such a gap?', but I did get stuck in traffic." "So I was just pushing and pushing...
Sep 7, 2008 ITV.com (160 occurrences)

"I was praying: rain, rain, rain," Hamilton said. "I wanted the rain to come. But it was incredibly tough."
23 hours ago CNN International (125 occurrences)

"It was fair and square," said Hamilton. "This is motor racing."
Sep 7, 2008 Independent (53 occurrences)

"So, rather than hit Kimi and maybe take us both out, I went on to the escape road and rejoined in front of him. The team told me straight away that I had to let him back in front - and that's what I did. My heart was racing more than it ever has...
18 hours ago guardian.co.uk (39 occurrences)

"I was praying for rain, I wanted the rain to come, I knew how to deal with it and the heavens opened. I saw Kimi about to back off into Turn 8 and I knew the fight was on. Into Turn 12 I was going reasonably wide, it looked like Rosberg had done a...
17 hours ago Irish Times (30 occurrences)

"I was on every limit, and even beyond," said Hamilton. "I was pushing as hard as I could but I couldn't get too close without the handling of my car being upset behind the Ferrari. It was one of the most exciting races for a long time - and...
18 hours ago guardian.co.uk (125 occurrences)

"He pushed me wide I had no room. This is motor racing," said Hamilton.
23 hours ago CNN International (70 occurrences)

"This is motor racing and if there's a penalty, then there's something wrong because I was ahead going into that corner, so I didn't gain an advantage from it," he said. "We were still able to race at the next corner and I gave him his spot...
6 hours ago Times Online (35 occurrences)

"It was as good as I could have done," he said. "Sometimes you do your best, do a perfect lap and then you find it is not enough, and that is what happened today."
Sep 6, 2008 AFP (50 occurrences)

"The heavens opened and I saw Kimi begin to back off earlier than he had done," Hamilton said. "It was incredibly tough.It was a fitting triumph for Hamilton with McLaren celebrating the 40th anniversary of their first Formula One victory at...
Sep 7, 2008 WalesOnline (32 occurrences)

Friday, September 05, 2008

UST Global Postpones Date of Joining :(

2007 batch of students are being asked to wait till January 2009... ( due to space constraints?)
1000s of graduates :(
This is regarding the Training letter and the e-mail on the training schedule dated 14th November 2007. We would like to inform you that the scheduled training program has been postponed, due to business reasons.

The revised date for the training will be communicated to you in January 2009.

For any further clarifications, please e-mail at campus.relations@ust-global.com or call us at 0471-4042200

Note: Help Desk is available from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM, on week days.

Regards,
Manager -HR


The media releases are quite different though...

UST Global to go in for more buys

Sanjeev Ramachandran / Chennai/ Thiruvananthapuram August 29, 2008, 2:11 IST
Company to finalise a few deals in the next 90 days.

UST Global, an IT services and solutions provider for the Global 2000 market, has zeroed in on a handful of technology players for acquisitions this year.
According to Sajan Pillai, CEO, UST Global, “We have zeroed in on certain companies, and will finalise a few deals in the next 90 days. The new acquisitions are in a bid to expand UST Global’s portfolio and achieve its billion-dollar revenue target.”
He added that a few of the targeted companies would be Indian players and foreign firms with an Indian presence. The company currently has registered $250 million in terms of revenue.
Not revealing the names of the target companies lined up for acquisition, Pillai said, “ERP and business intelligence being our key strengths, we would be acquiring companies that suit our portfolio.”
The company, which has established its presence in the North American, European, Australian and the Asia Pacific regions, currently services as many as 14 new Fortune 500 companies. The number will be doubled by next month.
Besides the acquisitions, UST Global is looking at getting itself listed, most probably on an American bourse.
“Our stock market listing would happen by the first quarter of 2010. Though we are not ruling out an Indian listing, a US listing is in our minds at the moment,” he added.
The company this June had also rolled out an employee stock option plan for its professionals, Pillai said.
Pointing out that this initiative was one of the most broadly based ESOP programmes in the industry and perhaps the first among companies based out of Technopark, Pillai said over 60 per cent of the employees would be eligible for ESOPs.
On the recessionist trend that has engulfed the American scene, Pillai said UST Global hadn’t had much of an impact as only around 30 per cent of its customer companies had been impacted. The remaining 70 per cent among its clientele, who operate out of Europe and Asia Pacific, are still intact and unaffected.

“Significantly, we are still hiring employees at the rate of 140 professionals every month. This means, we did not cut down on workforce even in these troubled times,” he said. UST Global is among the largest IT services companies in Kerala.

The company has also lined up its foray into Latin America and has finalised plans for expansion of its Malaysian operations and setting up of a campus in Thiruvananthapuram during the year.

“We have chosen San Diego in Chile for our Latin American plans and will start operations soon. The company will begin work on expanding operations at its Malaysian centre by the first quarter of 2009,” he added.

UST Global, meanwhile, is readying the first phase of its campus close to Technopark. “The campus would see an investment of $50 million in the first phase and add close to 5,000 professionals to the company’s employee list,” he said.
US Technology is now UST Global.
UST-Global (www.ust-global.com )is a SEI-CMMi and PCMM Level 5 company.also it follows Six Sigma practices in developing customer-facing processes. UST strictly follows the security standards laid out by BS 7799, ISO 17799 & ISO 27001

Look at an old press release from technopark newsletter..

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Internation Film Festival of Kerala on December 12 2008



13th International Film Festival of Kerala is on December 12th 2008. at Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala, India .The event Organised by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy for the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala . Last day for sending competition entry is September 30. The ticket sales will happen on Oct-Nov.

Screening Venues of IFFK 2008 will probably be same as last years'.
  • Sreekumar ph:2331222
  • Sri Visakh ph:2331222
  • Ajantha ph:2472825
  • Dhanya ph:2476773
  • Kairali ph:3013030
  • Kalabhavan ph:2322314
  • Kripa ph:2471655
  • New Theatre ph:2323244
  • Remya ph:2476773
  • Nisagandhi - public without pass can view.
Access to the venues of the Festival venuw will be strictly limited by pass.
No audiovisual recording or photographic equipment will be permitted in the screening areas.

Join Orkut Community here to discuss more about the movies...
Visit Official website here
Follow unofficial IFFK 2008 blog here

Monday, September 01, 2008

Total 4U Sabarinath JR www-totalcity-in Arrested

Is Total Group Sabarinath guilty? If you think Sabarinath is guilty SMS Sabari to 5050 is what the channels in Kerala are airing now.

Total 4U is a group of companies which include
  • Consumer Credits & Hire Purchase Limited
  • Total Asset Management
  • Nest Investment Solutions
  • Total Builders
  • ToT Music


According to the website TotalCity.in the project is not a Farm House but Media says its a farm house. Is Sabarinath JR who is 20 year old is said to be the owner of these luxurios cars and assets ???


INest Investment Solution is located just opposite to Secretariate. The police arrested him when a cheating case was registered by a depositor.



Total4U: Sabari’s close aid Hemalata arrested from Karamana. Hemalatha's daughter, who is an air hostess with Air India, is also on the run. Chandramathy, a senior official of the state-owned SIDCO, is absconding.

Jakes Bejoy's ‘Born In Kerala’ was released by TOT Music, on August 23. Sabarinath JR is the producer. Don't know what will happen to the Album...