Four Climaxes for Raavan

Since the day of initiation Ravan film has been in news for various reasons. The latest buzz doing rounds regarding Ravan is that Mani Rathnam had shot four climaxes for Raavan.

Hold your breath…It seems that in one of the climaxes Raavan wins Seetha’s heart.

Seetha overcomes Raavan’s tantrums and reaches Rama in another; whereas other two climaxes show Rama dying in one and Ravana dying in another.

Mani had kept everyone guessing as even unit members are not aware of what’s running in his mind.

Already there have been enough controversies around movies showing epics and religious practices in different light. Hope Ravan doesn’t run into controversies.

Vijay is Asin’s Kavalkaran

Vijay is playing Asin’sKavalkaran (Bodyguard) in Siddique directed remake of the Malayalam hitBodyguard.

The shoot of the film has started from Monday in Kumbakonam.

Once again Vijay has preferred to take an old super hit MGR- Jayalalitha film Kavalkaran (1967), as the title for his new film. After Vettaikkaran Vijay is using an MGR title again, as he believes that it has tremendous recall value among the masses.

However the title is appropriate as Vijay, a happy go lucky youth is appointed by Raj Kiran a local toughie to be his daughter Asin’s bodyguard when she goes to college. The enemies of Raj Kiran want to eliminate his daughter and our hero turns out to be her Kavalkaran!

2010 ICC World Twenty20 Scheduled

Groups

The groups were announced on 4 July 2009. The initial four group format is the same as that used at the 2009 tournament.

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Pakistan Bangladesh Australia	Sri Lanka New Zealand Zimbabwe	South Africa India Afghanistan	West Indies England Ireland

1st Match, Group B - New Zealand v Sri Lanka Providence Stadium, Guyana
2nd Match, Group D - West Indies v Ireland Providence Stadium, Guyana
3rd Match, Group C - Afghanistan v India Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
4th Match, Group A - Bangladesh v Pakistan Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
5th Match, Group C - India v South Africa Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
6th Match, Group A - Australia v Pakistan Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
7th Match, Group B - Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe Providence Stadium, Guyana
8th Match, Group D - West Indies v England Providence Stadium, Guyana
9th Match, Group B - New Zealand v Zimbabwe Providence Stadium, Guyana
10th Match, Group D - England v Ireland Providence Stadium, Guyana
11th Match, Group A - Australia v Bangladesh Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
12th Match, Group C - Afghanistan v South Africa Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
13th Match - TBC v TBC (A1 v D2) Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
14th Match - TBC v TBC (C1 v B2) Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
15th Match - TBC v TBC (A2 v C2) Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
16th Match - TBC v TBC (B1 v D1) Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
17th Match - TBC v TBC (A1 v B2) Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
18th Match - TBC v TBC (D2 v C1) Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
19th Match - TBC v TBC (C2 v D1) Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
20th Match - TBC v TBC (B1 v A2) Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
21st Match - TBC v TBC (A1 v C1) Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
22nd Match - TBC v TBC (B2 v D2) Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
23rd Match - TBC v TBC (B1 v C2) Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
24th Match - TBC v TBC (D1 v A2) Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
1st Semi-Final - TBC v TBC Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
2nd Semi-Final - TBC v TBC Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Final - TBC v TBC Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

Sachin's approach towards the game has changed: Kapil

NEW DELHI: Kapil Dev is not surprised by Sachin Tendulkar’s sublime form in the last couple of years, and says that Tendulkar has been playing in this manner because his approach towards the game has changed.

"Sachin has been the most talented player in decades. His approach was different 10 years ago. He was making records and entertaining the fans but was also under tremendous pressure. Now he is playing with more freedom," Kapil told TOI on Monday.

"Just look at the way Sachin is batting even at the age of 37. Had he batted like this when he was 28, other contemporary greats like Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara would not have come anywhere near him. Such is Sachin’s talent.

"What I like about Sachin’s batting is his sound technique. And if you have that, age is just a number. Given Sachin’s talent, it’s not at all surprising he has broken the records he has. It’s God’s gift and no one can take it away from him. His current form is surely great for Indian cricket," said the legendary all-rounder.

So, how long does he expect Tendulkar to play like this? "It’s for Sachin to decide when he plans to retire. I guess as long as he is enjoying cricket and is fit, Sachin will keep persevering and producing match-winning performances for his team. We should just sit back and enjoy," Kapil said.

Kapil also backed Yuvraj Singh and asked his critics to be patient with the cricketer. "Yuvraj is very talented. He is going through a lean patch and is coming out of an injury. Give him some time and he will be alright. His form will depend on how well he works on his fitness," he said.

He also had a word or two for the Indian pace department. "These days, the culture is to bowl straight. But if you look at the great fast bowlers, all of them were able to move the ball well. All said and done, you have to swing the ball to be successful," Kapil said.

Sachin meets Saraswathi

An emotional meeting:Saraswathi Vaidyanathan blesses cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar in Chennai on Monday.

Chennai: The air suffused with warmth, Sachin Tendulkar greeted a special admirer at a city hotel here on Monday. The legend approached the 87-year-old Saraswathi Vaidyanathan with folded hands and sought her blessings.

Despite an illustrious career of miles and milestones, cricket's most successful batsman has retained a great sense of humility. “I read in the article that you have followed all my innings and know all my records. I need your good wishes,” said the man who cuts across barriers.

The April 1 issue of The Hindu Metro Plus broke the story of how Saraswathi, unmindful of her advancing age, had kept track of Tendulkar's glorious journey. She maintained her own statistics of the maestro, kept awake all night to follow his innings on television and prayed for him.

Her body weak, Saraswathi had difficulty walking. Yet her eyes laughed when she saw Tendulkar in flesh and blood. Not wanting the moment to fly away and turning distinctly emotional, she said, “I am lucky to meet you.” Tendulkar corrected her. “No, I am lucky to meet you,” he said.

Saraswathi recalled Tendulkar's records — to the legend's great delight — and expressed her wish that he complete 100 international centuries. Tendulkar is seven short of the landmark. “I will,” replied a beaming Tendulkar.

She then gifted Tendulkar an idol of Lord Ganesh. Tendulkar touched her feet, again in all humility. Soon, he autographed her prized possession — a bat signed by several accomplished cricketers. The maestro's name had been missing from the list.

Affectionately calling Tendulkar her fourth grandson — Saraswathi has three grandsons and a granddaughter — she asked the legend, “How are Anjali [Tendulkar's wife], Arjun [son] and Sara [daughter] doing?”

Tendulkar answered, “They are all well.”

Saraswathi's second son C.V. Venkitakrishnan said: “Whenever she has a health issue, all she needs to do is to watch Tendulkar bat. All her pain disappears. He is a tonic for her.”

Despite being pressed for time, Tendulkar had happily agreed to meet Saraswathi. It came after a team meeting of the Mumbai Indians at Park Sheraton, ahead of the evening practice session.

Tendulkar was moved on more than one occasion. Saraswathi had the final say. “You are short in stature, but very big in deeds,” she said. Tendulkar smiled, once again.

Indians by nature are tolerant & understanding: SRK

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan said that Indians by nature are more tolerant and as such by and large religious radicalisation is not accepted in India's society.

"I think Indians by nature like people and they're compromising and understanding. Is what I'd like to believe, really," Shah Rukh told in an interview when asked why Indian Muslims are not radicalised as that in the neighbouring countries.

"I think the secret lies within the way Indians are. We as people are more compromising and understanding. We do give a chance to everyone to say their point of view, listen to it, and not react really radically.

Of course there will be sections which do it and that permeates to the Muslims, to the Hindus, to the Christians, to every, you know, section in our society

I would like to believe it's like that. But I think that's the main reason," Shah Rukh observed.

Samsung launches S5620 Monte phone

NEW DELHI: Samsung India has expanded its touchscreen mobile phone line-up in India with the launch of S5620 Monte.

Samsung S5620 has a 3" TFT touch screen and comes equipped with Smart unlock, accelerometer sensor, 3.15 mega pixel camera and geo-tagging.

Other features include smile detection capability, Bluetooth, 3.5mm audio jack, Google Maps, Stereo FM Radio and image editing applications.

The 3G-ready phone claims to offer 9 hours, 42 minutes of talk time. The phone's internal memory is 200 MB which can be expanded using a microSD card.

Samsung S5620 is priced at Rs 8,850 approximately.

Eleven Things I Now Know About the iPad

In the end, you have to try it for yourself. The world is full of people who formed fierceopinions about the iPad not only before they'd used one but before they knew anything for sure about it. But this gizmo is something new. And if you think you can come to any conclusions about it by thinking of it as either a giant iPhone or a netbook with the keyboard chopped off, you're wrong.

I woke up at 5am on Saturday, drove to my neighborhood Apple Store, and ended up near the front of the queue of first-day iPad buyers. I was out the door with a unit in hand at 9:15am, and spent the rest of Saturday (and Sunday morning) with it in hand, exploring the built-in apps, downloading a gaggle of third-party ones, and generally trying to form more definitive impressions than I was able to get during my brief hands-on time with an iPad at January's launch event.

This isn't a comprehensive review-I'm not going to bemoan the lack of Flash, multitasking, and a camera, or repeat any impressions that you can come to without spending time by yourself with an iPad. I'm just going to tell you eleven significant things I know about the thing that I didn't know-at least for sure-on Friday night.

The Good

It really is a new type of device. We've called portable computers "notebooks" for a quarter century, but the iPad is the first one I've used that truly feels like a notebook. The basic interface is so damn good, and the performance is so zippy, that it disappears in your hands-to steal a phrase from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos that he'd probably prefer I didn't apply to the iPad.

And even though we've read on computers (portable and otherwise) for decades, computers have never been very satisfactory reading devices. The iPad's booklike form factor, beautiful screen, touch interface, instant-on ability, and general simplicity make me think it's going to be superb for reading Web pages, e-books, and digital magazines-at least if you stay out of direct sunlight. Steve Jobs said that the iPad was "way better" than a netbook for browsing the Web, and if he was talking about readingthe Web, he has a strong case.

Popovers are kind of brilliant. The "the iPad is nothing new" theory ignores the fact that large swaths of its user interface bear little resemblance to either iPhone or to desktop operating systems such as OS X. My favorite new idea is the Popover, a sort of hybrid drop-down menu/dialog box/window. (For instance, they show up when you use the Mail app in portrait mode-your inbox is a Popover, so you can see all your messages without leaving the message you've got open.) I think they're one of the most significant interface ideas since windows and menus-and I don't see why they wouldn't work equally well on a traditional mouse-driven desktop.

The battery keeps going. I havent done any formal benchmarking-in part because the battery meter was at 89 percent when the iPad came out of the box, and I didn't bother to charge it until late Saturday night, when it was still at 20 percent. Looks like Apple's ten-hour claim isn't an act of fantasy. A ten-hour iPad will still need to be fueled at night, but it'll be able to survive most workdays and even long plane flights without needing a recharge.

The keyboard is surprisingly tolerable. When I first used an iPhone, I quite literally couldn't type two characters in a row without at least one typo. But the iPad keyboard is a radically different beast. No, the keys don't travel-but they're only slightly smaller the ones on my 15? MacBook Pro, so they feel like big, inviting targets rather than the iPhone's microkeys. I'm not saying there's no learning curve-I keep pressing "B" when I'm aiming for the space bar. And on-screen keyboards still fill a large chunk of the display, leaving less room for whatever you're trying to type. But I already miss plastic keys less than I expected to.

The iPad App Store is already jam-packed with interesting stuff. And not just iPhone apps that will work on the iPad in either teeny-tiny or double-sized mode. I suspect that no new platform has ever arrived with as many applications as the iPad, from Twitterific toDragon Dictation to Instapaper toSugarSync to ABC toThe New York Times to TIME to Autodesk's outstandingSketchbook Pro and beyond. As with the iPhone, apps are already the best thing about the iPad-even though the initial batch is rough around the edges. (More about that momentarily.)

Apple's $40 case is surprisingly nifty. Beyond itsprotective benefits and the way it can prop up the iPad like a photoframe, it also lets you put the gizmo at a gentle slope that's excellent for typing. (I wanna try it out on my next plane flight-even if the guy in front of me suddenly reclines as far as possible, I should be fine.)

The Bad (or at Least the Imperfect)

It's got bugs, bugs, bugs. Almost all the ones I've encountered seem to relate to third-party apps rather than the system software, but I keep encountering them. Several iPhone apps exhibited weird problems, such as certain regions of the screen seemingly being dead spots. (Monopoly even confronted me with something I've never seen on an iPhone-a low-memory error.) The TIME magazine app was confused about how much screen it had to work with until I reset the iPad. The ABC app keeps crashing.

I choose to assume that most of this stuff stems from developers having little or no access to actual iPad hardware until this weekend, and hope that means that it'll be reasonably easy to fix.

You might have trouble charging it. When early iPadders across America started plugging their new gadgets into their computers-especially non-PCs-via USB cables, many found that they got a "Not Charging" message. It turns out that it's an issue relating to the amount of power output by the USB ports in question, and Apple says that the iPad will charge if you leave it shut off. It shouldn't come as a complete stunner, given that the iPad is a much more powerful, demanding device than the typical ones that we charge via USB. But Apple should explain this in the section of its site where it says the iPad can be charged by USB. And it seems like it could replace the "Not Charging" message with an alert recommending that you shut your iPad off.

Forget about Flash, some non-Flash sites have issues. I was hoping that the iPad's version of Mobile Safari, with its ample resolution, would run Web apps more like OS X Safari than like iPhone Safari. Which it does, but only some of the time. Google put together anice iPad version of Gmail, but the version of Google Docs you get is disappointing-except for the spreadsheet, it's view-only, like the iPhone one. I also can't edit in Zoho, or in the rich-text editor part of WordPress. I'm sure lots of sites will tweak themselves for maximum iPad friendliness, but it would be nice if we didn't have to wait for that.

I'm not sure if anyone's nailed magazines and newspapers yet. As a print fan (and former dead-tree guy myself), I'm excited by the potential of periodicals on the iPad-and impressed that a number of publishers were ready on day one. But everything I've checkout out so far has felt limited and/or fundamentally experimental. The New York Times' Editors Choice app is a user-interface gem, and free, but it offers only a handful of stories. I'm still getting used to TIME's interface, which makes you scroll down to see most of the content. I already know I don't like GQ's approach, which inexplicably separates the photos from the words, and hides captions by default. And I'm having trouble getting Popular Science to work, period.

Another thing about magazines and papers on the iPad: It's such a delightful device for reading the Web that the bar is extremely high for content that's delivered in other forms. I kinda think that publishers who want us to pay for content in downloadable form may need to yank the free versions from their Web sites.

Even though the keyboard's not bad, typing is an interesting challenge. On a desktop or laptop, the keyboard's convenient to your fingers and the screen is at eye level-as long as you can touch-type, you're good. On an iPhone or other smartphone, the keys and display area are so compact that it's easy to glance at both at the same time. But the iPad's intermediate size and all-in-one design is different-so far, I'm having trouble typing and looking at what I'm typing at the same time. With any luck, I'll get confident enough that I won't feel like I need to stare at the keys as I type.

And that's what I've learned so far. Bottom line: It's remarkable, but also rough around the edges-which was a safe bet all along.

Lots more thoughts to come, including answers to a bunch of questions you submitted here and on Twitter.

Anti-Sikh riots: court grants bail to co-accused of Sajjan Kumar

A Delhi court granted bail to a co-accused of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar on Monday and issued a notice to the CBI to file its reply on their application seeking certain documents relating to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases against them.

Additional Sessions Judge Sunita Gupta allowed the bail plea of Girdhari Lal who was in judicial custody after being arrested by the CBI on February 23.

The court also directed him to furnish a personal and surety bond of Rs. 50,000 each.

It granted the plea of the accused on the ground of parity as all other remaining accused had already been granted anticipatory bail by the Delhi High Court.

During the arguments, Lal’s counsel said he was not named by the Delhi police which had investigated the case earlier.

CBI, on the other hand, contended the matter was probed afresh after registering of the case by it in 2005 and he was not named by witnesses as they were scared.

The counsel for CBI also pointed out that his similar plea was earlier dismissed by the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.

ASJ Gupta was holding the proceedings in the matter at Karkardooma courts for first time after the two cases were transferred to her court from a special CBI court on the direction of the District and Sessions Judge on April 1.

Meanwhile, the court asked CBI to file its reply on April 7 on the application of Kumar and his co-accused seeking records relating to the two cases of the riots that had taken place following the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.

The documents included judicial as well as police records of certain cases registered at the police stations of Sultanpuri and Delhi Cant. and a copy of the memorandum of action taken on the report of Justice G.T. Nanavati Commission of Inquiry which was set up to inquire into riots.

Opposing the arguments of the accused, CBI counsel Y.K. Saxena submitted that their similar plea had been dismissed earlier by the court.

Senior counsel H.S. Phoolka, who appeared on behalf of the victims, told the court that the trial court has to conclude the proceedings in the cases within six months.

CBI had filed two chargesheets on January 13 against Kumar and others in the riots cases registered on the recommendation of Justice G.T. Nanavati Commission which had inquired into the sequence of events leading to the riots.

Now God and sex on Varma's mind

Director-producer Ram Gopal Varma, whose films are mostly inspired by real life incidents, has started writing the script of his next film "God and Sex", based on Swami Nityananda's alleged sex scandal, which will take a hard look at the happenings in an ashram.

"My whole idea is to take a hard look at what happens behind the close doors of an ashram. That doesn't necessarily mean sexual activities. It's about power politics; it's about (an) industry running behind (it)," Varma told IANS in an interview.

From the scandalous incident of Swami Nityananda, Varma has drawn the conclusion that one can win over God but not over sex.

"You see so many 'babas' all over the place. I have been seeing...and so many of them are exposed. In spite of that, so many devotees keep going to them. As God doesn't speak, the next best thing you can have is a godman," the film-maker said.

"He has to design a certain image to make the devotee believe in him, but since he is a man at the core, he will fall prey to sex one day, which happened in the case of Nityananda," he added.

"So I thought about the interesting contrast between God and sex. You take all the bigwigs like N.D. Tiwari, a big politician, to Swami Nityananda to S.P.S. Rathore - they fell prey to sex, interestingly. So no matter, even if you win over God, you can't win over sex," Varma said.

Asked if he was prepared to withstand any protests by devotees, he said: "It depends on what I intend to show. My film will get more publicity, whichever way."

What excites Varma to make the film is to reveal that the 'babas' who are worshipped as godmen are actually very normal human beings.


"What I loved most about the Nityananda story is not the sex part but that he is watching Kannada film songs. That gave me the idea of how much a normal man he is. In his private life beyond the close doors, he is a normal man," Varma said.

"They earn in millions. No one is bothered where this money comes from. All are bothered that he had sex," the film-maker added.

Varma hasn't yet decided whom to cast in the lead role for the film.

Nityananda has not been seen in public since the telecast last month of video footage showing him in a sexual act with two women.

Telugu films news

Darling on 23 April

Prabhas’s Darling will be released on 23 April. Kajal Agarwal and Shraddha Das play female leads. Karunakaran (Toliprema fame) directed this movie. GV Prakash Kumar composes music. Andrew handles camera. Tamil veteran actor Prabhu plays a vital role. Bhogavalli Prasad isthe producer.

Chandramukhi 2 from 28 April

Venkatesh’s latest movie Chandramukhi 2 (remake of Kannada blockbuster Apta Rakshaka) will go to floors from 28 April. This movie features five heroines including Anushka. This period thriller is touted as sequel to Chandramukhi film. P Vasu who directed the Kannada version as well as Chandramukhi is going to direct it. Bellamkonda Suresh is the producer.

Kamalinee with Rajasekhar

Kamalinee Mukherjee will be paired up with Raja Sekhar for the first time in a movie that is going to be produced by Natti Kumar on Visakha Talkies banner. Jonnalagadda Srinivasa Rao directs it. This movie will go to floors on 5 April. Producer Natti Kumar is also planning a movie titled Bhairava IPS with Srihari as hero in the direction of Gulabi Seenu.

Style’s sequel is Dhanadhan

Lagadapati Sridhar is planning to do a sequel to his movie Style. This movie is titled as Dhanadhan. It is going to be music and dance based movie. Other details are awaited.

SHRIYA NONCHALANT ABOUT HER ABSENCE IN TOLLYWOOD

Shriya Saran was once one of the hottest actresses in Telugu. She is still hot but her number of movies in Telugu have deteriorated big time. She is currently working for the Telugu movie “Don Seenu” which stars Ravi Teja in the lead.

She was sharing her thoughts recently when the actress was nonchalant about her absence. She said that it should not matter to anyone if she does Telugu movies or not. She added that she is an Indian and that she will act in whichever language she has to. She revealed that there have been many Tamil movies starring her which have released in Tamil as well. She added that she will go anywhere where work takes her.

She also went on say that she might not have acted in a full fledged Telugu movie for few years but that should not be a big deal.

Puri Jagannath to direct Jr. NTR

Rising Telugu hero Jr. NTR, who is currently busy withBrindavanamand Shakti, directed by Vamshi Paidipally and Meher Ramesh respectively, would soon be seen working under the direction of ace director Puri Jagannath for the second time afterAndhrawala (2004), which was a disaster at the box office.

This new film will be produced by Nallamalapu Bujji of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Productions, maker of Konchem Ishtamga Konchem Kashtamga. Though details about the title, cast and crew are yet to be revealed, it is said that the movie will go on floors later this year. Director Puri Jagannath is currently busy with Golimar, starring Gopichand and Priyamani.

Chidambaram renews talks offer

Terming Maoists ‘cowards,' Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram made a fresh offer of talks with the rebels if they abjured violence. He ruled out military action against them.

On his maiden visit to the Maoist-affected region to review the progress of the anti-Maoist operations and assess the situation, he said that while the lack of development was an issue, he requested the people not to extend either material or moral support to the Maoists since “they will only continue killing people.”

“The naxals are cowards. Why are they hiding in the forests? We had invited them for talks…If they really want development…, they are welcome to talk about anything in the world. Just give up violence,” he told journalists after his two-and-half-hour visit.

Mr. Chidambaram also slammed the Maoist-backed Police Santrash Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee (PSBJC) for “directly or indirectly” supporting the Maoists and offered to use his “good offices” to talk to the State government if it had a “genuine problem.”

After his arrival here, Mr. Chidambaram held an hour-long meeting with both security and administrative officials at the Lalgarh thana and then interacted with the locals about their grievances.

Denying that under-development was driving the locals to back the Maoists, he said: “Very poor people live in this part of West Bengal, and nobody supports the naxalites…they are, no doubt, unhappy that development has not come to this area, but they also know that the naxals are not going to bring about any development.”

Acknowledging the grievances over the lack of education, proper ration, electricity and medical care, he said the State government should improve its performance.

Saying that the visit made a “mixed impression” upon him about the security operations, Mr. Chidambaram said that though the positive part was that a “few key naxalites” could be neutralised, the “weak” part was that Maoist killings continued. The Home Secretary and the Director-General of Police were asked to work on the weaknesses.

IPad Likely Beat Estimates, Signaling Tablet Revival

April 5 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. probably sold more than twice as many iPads in its debut weekend as some analysts estimated, an early sign that Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs may succeed at reviving demand for tablet-style computers.

The iPad’s initial sales may have reached 700,000 units, Piper Jaffray & Co.’s Gene Munster said in an interview yesterday. The Minneapolis-based analyst had predicted sales of 200,000 to 300,000, while Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.’s Toni Sacconaghi had projected 300,000 to 400,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Mark Moskowitz estimated 825,000 in the quarter to June.

The device went on sale April 3, drawing crowds to stores across the U.S. and rivaling the frenzy seen when the iPhone was introduced in 2007. Lines at five stores surveyed by Piper Jaffray were longer than expected, yet Apple had iPads available late in the opening day, signaling the company was able to produce enough devices to fulfill initial demand, Munster said.

“Sales held relatively steady during the day,” said Munster, who bought a $499, 16-gigabyte model for himself. “I have high expectations.”

The iPad is Apple’s bid to turn tablet computers into popular consumer devices, something rivals such as Microsoft Corp. have failed to do. The product builds on the success of Apple’s iPhone and iPod, staking out the middle ground between smartphones and laptop computers. Apple is betting the design is enticing enough that consumers are willing to pay a premium over low-cost notebooks. It starts at $499.

‘Unique, Sexier’

“It’s ridiculously expensive, way overpriced,” said Josh Klenert, a 36-year-old graphic designer, who still went ahead and bought one. “You may call it a dumb computer or a smart telephone --it’s in between. It’s a unique, sexier device.”

Klenert, whose one-bedroom apartment in Tribeca has “more Macs than people,” pre-ordered the iPad as soon as it was available and came down to Apple’s SoHo store in New York to be one of the first to buy it. He plans to use it for reading newspapers and magazines.

Hundreds of shoppers lined up to wait for stores to open, though crowds didn’t camp out for days this time, as they did when the iPhone debuted. Many of the buyers identified themselves as early adopters and Apple enthusiasts, making it harder to tell if the iPad will win over mainstream customers.

“I love it,” said Jacob Arentoft, a 37-year-old digital business developer from Copenhagen. After exiting Apple’s Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan, he unpacked the brand-new silver gadget and waved it at the crowd. “The size fits, the design fits, everything fits.”

Positive Reviews

Jobs made an opening-day appearance at his hometown store in Palo Alto, California, chatting with shoppers. Apple retail chief Ron Johnson was at the Fifth Avenue store and addressed employees before it opened.

Users can surf the Internet, peruse digital books, watch video and play games on the iPad. What it lacks is a built-in camera or support for Adobe Systems Inc.’s Flash software, which runs much of the video on the Web. The device also doesn’t let users carry out multiple tasks at once.

The iPad’s first wave of reviews praised its ability to deliver digital books and video quickly, saying it measures up well against other devices, including Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle e-book reader. Bloomberg columnist Rich Jaroslovsky said it may change the way people relate to computers, requiring users to learn a “new language” that Apple has made “both elegant and very easy to master.” USA Today’s Edward Baig called the iPad “fun, simple, stunning to look at and blazingly fast.”

TV Shows

Tablets have been available in one form or another since the 1990s, without ever catching on. They account for less than 1 percent of the personal-computer market, according to research firm Gartner Inc.

The iPad’s success will depend partly on the attractiveness of applications that run on it. CBS Corp., the most-watched U.S. TV network, announced plans last week to offer episodes of shows such as “Survivor” and “CSI” on the iPad. Walt Disney Co. will release iPad applications for ABC shows and ESPN games. And Netflix Inc., the movie-rental company, will let subscribers watch programming streamed to the iPad.

Apple, which has more than doubled in the past year, rose 97 cents to close at a record $235.97 April 1 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. U.S. markets were closed April 2 for the Good Friday holiday.

Like the iPhone, the iPad will test Apple’s ability to conquer new markets. Since returning to the company in 1997, Jobs revived the Macintosh computer business, reshaped digital music with the iPod and pushed Apple into the mobile-phone field. Adding those products propelled revenue and profit to record levels.

Sales Estimates

When the iPhone debuted, Apple struggled to keep it in stock. Most of its stores quickly sold out, and resellers on EBay and Craigslist hawked the device to desperate shoppers for as much as $12,000. Apple sold about 270,000 iPhones in its 2007 debut weekend.

Apple may sell about 5 million iPads in the first 12 months, compared with 6.1 million iPhones in its first year on the market, according to Sacconaghi. JPMorgan’s Moskowitz forecast annual sales will reach 4.8 million, the San Francisco-based analyst wrote in a report today. Researcher ISuppli Corp. says full-year sales may reach 7.1 million globally.

Apple declined to comment, said Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for the Cupertino, California-based company.

At the outset, iPads will connect to the Web through localized hot spots that use Wi-Fi technology. Some shoppers may wait for a version with 3G, which lets the iPad connect to mobile-phone networks. It’s due later this month.

Luis Martinez, a 30-year-old from Brooklyn who repairs computers, bought a Wi-Fi iPad on April 3 and already put in an order for the 3G version.

“People who criticize iPad are basically saying it doesn’t fit their lifestyle. It fits mine,” Martinez said. “Overall, I’m sold.”

--With assistance from Amy Thomson in Southern Pines, North Carolina; Mina Kawai, Arik Hesseldahl and Joe Sabo in New York; Katie Hoffmann in St. Louis; Dan Hart in Washington, Harriet Mankoff in Palo Alto, California; Marc Perrier in San Francisco; and Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo. Editors: Nick Turner, Ville Heiskanen

Benefits of Automated Testing

Reliable: Tests perform precisely the same operations each time they are run, thereby eliminating human error

Repeatable: You can test how the software reacts under repeated execution of the same operations.

Programmable: You can program sophisticated tests that bring out hidden information from the application.

Comprehensive: You can build a suite of tests that covers every feature in your application.

Reusable: You can reuse tests on different versions of an application, even if the user interface changes.

Better Quality Software: Because you can run more tests in less time with fewer resources

Fast: Automated Tools run tests significantly faster than human users.

Cost Reduction: As the number of resources for regression test are reduced.

Audio of Simha in market

The audio of NBK-Nayanatara starrer - Simha - was directly released into the market.

The film made on United Movies banner. The film also stars Namitha and Sneha Ullal, who shared romantic moments with Balakrishna. Directed by Boyapati Sreenu, the flick is directed by Paruchuri Kireeti.

Kireeti said: “Balakrishna is shown in a handsome manner in this film, coupled with multiple shades in his histrionics. We got tremendous response to his getups from the unit members. Music director Chakri came out with some of the scintillating tunes for the film. We chose to release the audio directly into the market. The shoot of Simha almost came to end and the rerecording works had already started. The film would hit the marquee in April.”

Director Boyapati Seenu said: “I directed the film keeping in view the extensive fan base of the hero. It would entertain both the class and mass audiences.”

Graphical User Interface (GUI) Testing

Many test automation tools provide record and playback features that allow users to interactively record user actions and replay it back any number of times, comparing actual results to those expected. The advantage of this approach is that it requires little or no software development. This approach can be applied to any application that has a graphical user interface. However, reliance on these features poses major reliability and maintainability problems. Relabelling a button or moving it to another part of the window may require the test to be re-recorded. Record and playback also often adds irrelevant activities or incorrectly records some activities.

A variation on this type of tool is for testing of web sites. Here, the "interface" is the web page. This type of tool also requires little or no software development. However, such a framework utilizes entirely different techniques because it is reading html instead of observing window events.

Another variation is scriptless test automation that does not use record and playback, but instead builds a model of the application under test and then enables the tester to create test cases by simply editing in test parameters and conditions. This requires no scripting skills, but has all the power and flexibility of a scripted approach. Test-case maintenance is easy, as there is no code to maintain and as the application under test changes the software objects can simply be re-learned or added. It can be applied to any GUI-based software application.

Mundhinam Parthene – Movie Review

The film goes splendid with slight, charming and refreshingly good love story, though the plot remains clichéd. Debutant Magizh Thirumeni strike starts off well inheriting certain traits from his mentor Gowtham Menon. Say for instance, the technical vistas are delivered with excellence that in times trivializes the drawbacks over narrative aspects.

A feel-good love story centering on a young lad’s expedition of a true love that has a league of unfamiliar faces, yet close to realness.

Sanjay (Sanjay), a tekkie has everything in life – fun, work and money. But that doesn’t make his life complete as he wants his better-half to be a latest fad with traditional prospects. Pooja (Pooja), a boisterously playful girl often bellyached for her acts makes Sanjay fall for her. His heart breaks down after knowing that she’s already engaged to another man. A dance exponent Aarthi (Ektha) living with her independent thoughts indeed draws him to her. When they’re actually in love, certain ambiguities break loose out of hell drifting them apart. The third-fangled girl enters – Pooja (Lizna), his colleague, whom he perceives to be his right match.

But, it’s time to rethink again between his choices and what follows next is a sweet journey of exploring real love.

Newcomers Sanjay, Ektha, Lizna and Pooja are as new to the lens as they seem to be doubtful at few points. Maybe, the miniscule group of audiences may relate themselves over the screens as filmmaker adds realistic touch while delineating these characters. The first hour has lots of fun with the office room dramas of techies. The springy pals of Sanjay do engross us at various parts while the narration slightly drags during second hour. But, with a shorter duration of just 108mins, you can take a chance of watching this film for its kind of presentation.

Thaman’s musical score is good, but he has to improvise on tuning melodies out on various styles as every song seems to correlating with each other. Cinematography is esthetical while Anthony’s editing is hunky-dory of his kind of traits.

With nothing much point on flip sides except amateurish gestures of actors which manifestly gets trivialized, filmmaker Magizh Thirumeni makes a good start in tinsel town.

Let’s hope his upcoming films are yet more finely exquisite catering for universal audiences unlike ‘Mundhinam Parthene’ that favors just the multiplex audiences.

ORTIVA WIRELESS SELECTS ITEST FOR AUTOMATED TESTING

Fanfare, delivering innovative testing solutions to service providers (SPs), network equipment manufacturers (NEMs), and enterprises, today announced that Ortiva Wireless has selected Fanfare's iTest®, the company's flagship test automation software, to automate the company's end-to-end testing process.

Ortiva Wireless develops advanced commercial solutions for the proactive management of mobile video. The company's mobile Video Optimization Gateway (mVOG) reduces bandwidth, increases network efficiency, and improves video coverage density for mobile operators. Ortiva Wireless will move to iTest as its automation platform, mitigating the need to build an in-house system and drastically reducing the reliance on a manual test process. As a result, test cases can be reused and referenced at any point during a product's testing cycle to speed time to market while increasing quality.

"iTest has had a dramatic impact in the short time it's been deployed. In the first three months alone, we've been able to generate hundreds of test suites - a feat simply not possible with the patchwork of internally built software and manual testing practices previously used," said Faisal Mushtaq, vice president of engineering for Ortiva Wireless. "We now have a fully automated suite of tests we can leverage for future products. Not only does this enable us to get our products to our customers more quickly, but it ensures the product and quality are optimized to in turn provide the video optimization services our customers and their subscribers expect."

More complex and powerful devices need a new way to test the extensive feature set without losing market advantages based on long testing cycles. Using iTest, Ortiva Wireless will eliminate the use of scripting languages such as Tcl and Perl. This will boost testing and productivity allowing product testing to keep pace with product development. Furthermore, new graduates no longer have formal training in these areas.

iTest is the leading commercially developed test automation software solution enabling testers and developers to define and execute tests verifying the functionality, performance, and behavior of a device or group of devices. These tests can then be used to find, reproduce, and resolve defects more quickly and enable an automated regression system. iTest customers experience greater testing coverage, earlier defect detection, faster testing cycles, and reduction of testing backlogs, resulting in faster time to market, improved profit margins, and enhanced customer service.

In addition, iTest's Virtual Testbed feature delivers considerable value to testing organizations by enabling testers to build test cases before devices even exist, beginning the quality process months earlier than before.

"The addition of Ortiva Wireless to our customer roster provides a snapshot into the wireless ecosystem that exists today," said Tom Ryan, president and CEO of Fanfare. "Optimization at all levels of the supply chain - from the beginning of the product lifecycle through to the carrier's ability to deliver quality services to its subscribers - demonstrates the increasing need for collaboration between vendors. A strategic approach to testing, particularly with the rollout of complex 4G networks and services, will provide significant market advantages for our customers."

About Fanfare

Fanfare provides automated testing solutions that enable service providers, network equipment manufacturers, and enterprises to enhance productivity throughout the quality workflow by streamlining system and device testing, reducing product cycles, and lowering costs. Using Fanfare, quality assurance teams and developers can leverage a common testing platform to deliver quality services and products to market faster and more efficiently. For more information, please visit www.fanfaresoftware.com.

About Ortiva Wireless

Ortiva Wireless offers the industry's most advanced commercial solution for proactive management of mobile video, allowing service providers to dramatically improve control, quality, and efficiency of rich media content delivery. Ortiva's mobile Video Optimization Gateway (mVOG) extends service reach, increases network efficiency, and improves video coverage density for mobile operators, while dynamically shaping the content to give subscribers the smoothest video and clearest audio experience possible - all regardless of fluctuating and hostile wireless network conditions. To learn more about how Ortiva is accelerating mobile video delivery, visit www.ortivawireless.com. Ortiva Wireless - Amazing Video Wherever You Go(TM)

NOTE: Ortiva is a trademark of Ortiva Wireless, Inc. All other registered or unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners

Source: Fanfare