TUSHAR'S BLOG

Living Room Entertainment — in the Car

silentassasin — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 14:10:38 +0000

BMW is taking the TV out of the living room and onto the road with a new multimedia entertainment system that combines all the elements of a TiVo crossed with an Apple TV, a satellite box and a multimedia cell phone.

Equipped with a 20-GB hard drive mounted behind the dashboard, the entertainment system can sync movies and TV shows from a home computer while the car is parked in the garage.

On the road, content can be downloaded or recorded for later viewing (or listening) via a satellite link or a cell-phone network, just like a mobile TiVo, or a phone that can buy songs or ringtones wirelessly.

“We said, ‘Let’s think about a telematics component that extends the entertainment experience,’” said Hans-Jörg Vögel, who heads the BMW research team for the project.

The merger of cars and multimedia is just the latest sign of a burgeoning TV renaissance that’s put geezer technology hatched 80 years ago at the wheel.

BMW has a working prototype built into an X5 SUV. Developed by a consortium that includes the European Space Agency, the satellite receiver is attached to the SUV’s roof and can record video and music on the move.

During a demonstration, the video and audio controls felt naturally like an extension of the SUV’s navigation and telematics systems. After selecting a video or a song, I could quickly flip back to the navigation system or change channels on the radio. Aside from the extra multimedia options, the console and menu looked and felt like that of existing BMW production cars.

However, it may be several years before the system sees commercial application, Vögel said.

The main impediments are licensing and trademark technicalities, plus the unwillingness of content providers to take the plunge and offer service. A Wi-Fi content-delivery system, however, could be commercially available within three years, Vögel said.

“We are looking at forming relationships with the various content providers,” Vögel said.

Even so, the system may not be something consumers will want, said Thilo Koslowski, vice president of Gartner’s automotive manufacturing industry advisory service.

“Consumers like to bring whatever personal devices they already have with their personal content on them wherever they go,” Koslowski said. “(BMW’s) focalization would have to become very seamless in order to make that work, and prices would have to be reasonable.”

Vögel said BMW plans to roll out new multimedia options incrementally: This year it’s iPod connectivity; next year it might be Wi-Fi synchronization with a home computer.

“We don’t want to reinvent any podcasting models, but could give you access to the podcasts in a flexible and easy way inside the car with your existing subscriptions,” Vögel said. “You car wakes up at 5 a.m., goes online for 10 to 15 minutes and then synchronizes all of the content you would ever need for that day of driving.”

Gates stays world’s richest but Buffett closes in

silentassasin — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 13:31:18 +0000

Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, has held on to his crown as the world’s richest man, but Warren Buffett, the American investment guru known as the Sage of Omaha, is fast catching up, according to Forbes magazine’s annual list of billionaires.

Although Mr Gates lead the rich list for the thirteenth consecutive year with a fortune worth $56 billion (£29 billion) — up by just $6 billion — Mr Buffett’s personal fortune climbed by $10 billion to $52 billion.

There are now a record 946 billionaires in the world, up more than 150 from last year, with Forbes attributing the increase to the commodities boom, the march of technology and the relative weakness of the dollar.

The list’s total net worth grew by 35 per cent from last year to a staggering $3.5 trillion, with Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican telecoms mogul, jumping into third place with a massive $19 billion increase in his net worth.

“This growth in the billionaires list is a mere reflection of a dynamic global economy. More people are better off on this Earth than ever before,” said Steve Forbes, the magazine’s editor-in-chief. “This is the richest year in human history.”

While the list was dominated as usual by American business-men, Russian oligarchs and Asian entrepreneurs, especially those from India and China, made their presence felt.

Some 36 Indian billionaires led by Lakshmi Mittal, the steel magnate, now feature on the list, boasting a total wealth of $191 billion between them.

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, the Japanese businessman whose real estate assets once made him the richest man in the world, slid off the list all together, with Masayoshi Son, the SoftBank chief, taking the top Japanese spot with $5.8 billion.

In Europe the most excitement came from Russia and Spain, with ten new Spanish names on the list and 19 Russian newcomers.

Mr Forbes, however, urged some caution, saying some of the fortunes in the former Soviet Union did not appear sustainable in the long term. “If there is a fall-off of commodity prices . . . does it have the breadth and depth to take up the slack?” he asked of the Russian economy.

Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea FC, remained top in Russia with $18.7 billion. The 52 other Russian billionaires owed their fortunes mainly to oil, steel, mining and metals.

The richest woman on the list was Liliane Bettencourt, 84, of France, the daughter of Eugene Schueller, the L’Oréal founder. She was ranked at number 12 with $20.7 billion.

Howard Schultz of Starbucks, the coffee chain, was a new entrant to the list as was Michael Eisner, the former Disney chief, who owed his place mostly to his rising stock in the company. Other familiar names were Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the Google executives, now worth $16.6 billion each, Michael Dell, the Dell founder, worth $15.8 billion, and Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian Prime Minister, on $11.8 billion

Water Way to Go

silentassasin — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 13:56:42 +0000

The Soviet Union’s busy airbrushing department strikes again in these photos, in which a commissar of water transport disappears but Joseph Stalin remains. The commissar had been shot to death.

Source: “The Commissar Vanishes,” newseum.org

altered

im back

silentassasin — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 12:31:19 +0000

after i made a new website www.imtushar.com i left this off

but im back

Indian gov blocks Blogspot, Typepad, Geocities blogs

silentassasin — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 11:00:10 +0000

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) passed an order to ISPs Friday to block several websites. The list is confidential. Indian ISPs have been slowly coming into compliance. SpectraNet, MTNL, Reliance, and as of Monday afternoon, Airtel. State-backed BSNL and VSNL have not started yet but likely will soon. The known list of blocked domains is *.blogspot.com, *.typepad.com and geocities.com/*.Yes folks, the Indian government has decided to censor blogs and refused to explain why. This morning Shivam Vij managed to talk to Dr Gulshan Rai, director of CERT-IN, the only body authorised to issue directives to ISPs. His response: “Somebody must have asked for some sites to be blocked. What is your problem?”

For helping out

silentassasin — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 13:59:44 +0000

thats all i could find till now
im still trying
but they dont give out addresses of people like that

He gave her his seat. He died, she lived

silentassasin — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 15:46:34 +0000

When 23-year-old Kunal Shah got up to give a woman his seat in the 6 pm train to Borivli, he didn’t realise he was giving death a second invitation. The management trainee, who worked for a publishing house in Dadar, had earlier in the evening turned down a request from a friend to hang out with him and catch a later train. Both decisions did him in.
On Tuesday, Kunal and a female colleague, Hemal Kamdar, boarded the train from Dadar station a little after 6 pm. At 6.25 pm tragedy struck.
While his colleagues and friends were frantically trying to reach him on his mobile when they heard about the blasts, Hemal jumped off from the ladies’ compartment and began a desperate search for her friend. It ended four hours later when she spied Kunal’s ATM card lying in the debris near what used to be the general first-class compartment. The young man had died on the spot.
Kunal’s father Rajnikant, who was away in Amritsar, was informed that his son’s condition was critical and he should return to Mumbai as soon as possible. A few of his friends in Amritsar arranged money for him to take a midnight flight to Delhi and then an early morning flight to Mumbai. When Rajnikant landed in Mumbai at 8.30 am on Wednesday, he had no idea that the dead body of his eldest son would be waiting for him at home.
The woman to whom the young man gave his seat before moving to the door seconds before the blast survived. “There wasn’t so much as a scratch on her though she was in the same compartment,’’ says a tearful Rajnikant. “She was the one who carried him to the hospital and remained there until someone from our family went to identify him.’’ Evidently, 7/11 was Kunal’s tryst with destiny. TNN

Mr Moneybags with a heart

silentassasin — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 15:44:21 +0000

Standing at the makeshift information counter at Sion Hospital, Somnath Julka was not looking for any injured relatives. He was simply lending a hand—monetarily and otherwise. Standing guard all night, Julka not only helped people look for their kin but also gave out Rs 2.75 lakh by way of cash and medicines to the needy.
“Many people rushed here to see their relatives as soon as they got the news on Tuesday, but they did not have enough cash on them,’’ said an assistant doctor at Sion Hospital. “So Julka paid for several medical bills as also many crucial and expensive injections that had to be administered to most patients who complained of hearing problems.’’
He had no motive for the good deed, only a simple explanation. “I have no more duties to perform in life, so I’ve taken up new ones,’’ said Julka who lives across the road and recently married off his only daughter. The transport company he runs has a dozen branches across the country and Julka, in a lighter vein, said that Tuesday’s tragedy had put some of his wealth to good use.
By evening, Julka had arranged for six ambulances for people who had to transport bodies to Vasai and Virar. And handing over tips of Rs 500 to hospital group D employees, Julka shook hands with them and commended them for a job well done. “At the end of the day, if I can save even one life, I can die in peace,’’ he said. Apart from the financial help, Julka also helped relatives scan the lists of patients and locate their wards. He also accompanied some women who had to identify their husbands’ bodies in the morgue. Each time people asked him who he was, he simply answered, “A human being.’’

He left early to celebrate birthday, landed in hospital

silentassasin — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 15:42:48 +0000

Pravin Verma will never forget his 35th birthday. A designer in a Dadar-based advertising agency, Verma usually never got home until late at night. But on Tuesday since it was his birthday, he decided to leave early and boarded the first-class compartment of the local that blew up at Mahim.
Verma is now among those injured—with severe injuries on his right hand and a badly bruised face.
“I was talking to my wife on the cellphone just a little while before the blast. I was standing near the door of the train when I felt something hit me from behind. I fell unconscious and when I regained consciousness, I found myself lying on the platform at Mahim station,’’ said Verma from his bed in KEM Hospital.
He remembers seeing billowing smoke and mangled, bloody bodies from the platform and then being carried into a yellow Johnson and Johnson tempo.
“There was a havaldar who got all the cargo removed from the tempo to make place for the injured,’’ said Verma.
He managed to call his office who in turn called his family informing them of his whereabouts.