Thursday, February 4, 2010

Chinese teens most happy when surfing Internet

New Delhi, Feb 4 (ANI): A survey has found that Chinese teens are most happy when they are spending time surfing the Internet than when they are spending time with their family and friends.

The poll was carried out by the Shanghai Teenage Research Center on 2,425 teens from elementary schools, junior high schools and senior high schools in the city to "explore the inner world" of those born between 1990 and 1999, reports China Daily.


"We are always misunderstood by society," a number of the Shanghai teenagers in the study said.

The findings and responses were similar to the issues members of another age group had to face from older generations as they took their place in a changing society.

Members of the post-80s generation, or those born between 1980 and 1989, earlier bore the brunt of doubts expressed by older generations over their abilities and values in the face of modernity and commercialism.

Such scepticism has grown stronger toward the post-90s group, with criticisms found in media reports and the online community that label the young generation as an idle one.

An objective understanding of the post-90s group is necessary in light of these views, said Huang Hongji, a professor with the Shanghai Teenage Research Center who led the research project.

"Special attention should be paid to the emotional fluctuations of the teenagers. That is crucial," he said.

The changing environment of Shanghai, a modern metropolis with rapid social and economic development, is expected to further affect its teens.

Still, youngsters said the latest research results do not paint a completely accurate picture of today's teens.

"I like drawing and reading novels," Chen Nuan, a final year junior high school student in Yangjingjuyuan experimental school, said.

"I like to spend some time on the Internet, but that is not all my life is about.

"I'd rather spend more time practicing my drawing, because I want to study fashion design in the future," she added.

Chen also said she used to visit her grandmother regularly together with her parents, but she has not done so for a while because of the increasingly pressures of study.

However, many teenagers still resist spending time with their parents and family in these ways.

"I don't want to talk to them," Wang Jingying, a first year high school student in Shanghai's Changning district, said.

"I can't communicate with them effectively," she stated.

Wang said she has also been feeling a lot of pressure since she entered the high school last year.

"I don't have enough time to digest the content of my classes. My schedule is full from Monday to Sunday," she added. (ANI)

CBSE issues notice to Ruchika Girhotra's school

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued a notice to Sacred Heart Convent School in Chandigarh, asking it to explain why Ruchika Girotra, who was molested by former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore and later committed suicide, was expelled from the institution.

The Board has given a 30 day time period to the school authorities to reply to its notice which was issued two days ago, a top Ministry official said on Thursday.

The Sacred Heart Convent in Chandigarh's Sector 26 area had expelled Ruchika for allegedly not paying the school fees 19 years ago. Ruchika was molested by Rathore and was allegedly driven to suicide due to harassment by the former IPS officer who also managed to reportedly get the school to expel her.

A magisterial inquiry had earlier indicted the school for "wrongfully expelling" Ruchika.

The inquiry by the sub-divisional magistrate Prerna Puri had said non-payment of fees in time was not a satisfactory reason for her expulsion. It suggested action against the school and its Principal Sister Sebastina for expelling her allegedly under pressure from Rathore.

Out of 135 students, who had not paid the fees, Ruchika was the only student to be expelled.

Sony Ericsson Aspen Mobile Phone Review

Sony Ericsson has added a new member to its GreenHeart family of phones. It has unveiled its latest smartphone, the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 enabled Aspen aka ‘Faith’. Aspen, allows easy multi-tasking combining the touch and feel experience and a real QWERTY keyboard. Sony Ericson is claiming Aspen having a number of green credentials. Lets have a look some of its striking features.
Size and Weight

Aspen will be small in size. It will be merely 117 x 60 x 12.45 mm. It will be much handy than other smartphones, weighing only 130 grams.
Display

Aspen is a 2.4 inches QVGA TFT touchscreen LCD. It has 240 x 320 pixels resolution, which supports easy readability. Overall, it will have a stunning display.
Operating System

What must be most exciting for you is the latest 6.5.3 version of the operating system that will run on Aspen. It will bring a real finger-friendly optimizations to the interface.
Keyboard

It seems the keyboard of Aspen is made, keeping in mind the need of writers/bloggers. The front-facing QWERTY keyboard enables fast and easy typing. You can go on writing for long hours, before taking a break.
Camera

While iPad lacks webcam, Aspen is coming with a 3.2 megapixel camera, which I think is very good. 4x digital zoom camera is just perfect for snapping distant pictures. With this self timer camera, you can take a group snap with your friends, it’s so easy!
Accessing Internet

In this web age, Internet access is a must to have features of any mobile phone. With Sony Ericsson Aspen, you can access internet in just one click. Bookmark your important sites or go for a Google search. You can experience maximized messaging with simple email set up. Simple access to social networks will enable you to reunite with your old buddies and share thoughts.
Entertainment

Aspen will appear as all in one entertaining device. If you are addicted to computer games, then Aspen will act as a catalyst for you. You can play 3D games at an ease. Aspen supports other facilities that include Skype, Video Streaming, downloading YouTube video and many others.
Battery

Sony Ericson announces with great pride that Aspen will support 8 hours of battery life while up to 12hrs of stand up time has been promised for listening to music.
Price and Availability

While price of Aspen is still unknown, it’s time of launching is expected to be Q2 2010.

Aspen will be available in two colors — Iconic Black and White Silver. The GreenHeart portfolio will be wrapped with A-GPS with Google Maps, 3.5-mm audio jack, WiFi, and microSD expansion (up to 16 GB). So are you dying to have it? or you think it will be an average one? Express your thoughts in the comment section below.

Top iPad News and Rumors

Inclusion of a webcam…Surprised, right?

A front-facing camera makes apt sense for the iPad. It provides the device with teleconferencing and webcam properties that could alone make it worth purchasing.

9to5mac and several other sites speculates about the possibility of inclusion of a front-facing camera in future upgrades to iPad. I say, its about time.

Mashable chimes in that the Mission Repair team took a camera out of a MacBook and placed it inside the iPad’s top hole, it fit right in.
Now that would be too much of serendipity, isn’t it?

We also heard in the rumor-mill that video call support may be already be present in OS 3.2 which powers iPad.
Most of us have been eagerly waiting for the Apple iPad for months. Rumor-mills around the world had circulated various interesting, hot features to be present in the iPad. As the iPad gets launched, gadget lovers all around the world are rather disappointed due to the absence of some very prominent features. Absence of multitasking, webcam, HDMI are few of those. But friends hold your breath for a while. Speculation is fast spreading across, about the upgradations that we may see inthe iPad in the near future. Barely a week has passed since its annoucement and the gadget world is flooded with loads of rumors. We would like to discuss about some of those rumors, which have got circulated, inspiring the geeks to crave more from that dare-dream gadget.

About Multitasking

There’s also good news for those who had expected the presence of full multitasking capabilities in the iPad. There is possibility that in the future this could ultimately change with a software update.

Another tablet or is it the future iPad

According to TechCrunch, Apple is thinking much larger for another version of the product, maybe all the way up to the 15.4 size that it currently uses for one version of the MacBook Pro. Alternatively, it may just be another tablet on the development platform.

So it seems that there is no end to the rumors behind Apple.

Internet Explorer 8 Takes Over IE 6 as The Most Popular Browser in the World

As per the recent survey carried out by Net Applications, Internet Explorer IE 8 is the most popular web browser in the world that overtook IE 6 which dropped at 22% market share as of Jan 2010. Many people moved from IE 6 because Microsoft admitted that the browser is vulnerable to hacker. It took 10 month for IE 8 to become the leader in the browser market.

The French and German government requested the users to use an alternate version of Explorer like Chrome or Firefox because of the security breach of Explorer. But, Microsoft said that users can download IE 8 safely because hackers have not been able to exploit IE 8 as of yet. That's why the market share of IE 6 dropped to 20% last month.

Google and Dept. of US health already announced that they will phase out the support of IE 6 gradually. Dept of health is still using IE 6. But, the dept advised the hospitals to upgrade it either IE 7 and IE 8 due to the reason of Security Flaw for IE 6. In addition, performance is also an issue for IE 6. Google said that it is going to phase out IE 6 from March. Google also said that they will not offer most of their functionalities for Google docs and Google Sites in IE 6 from the same time.

In the latest browser statistics, Google Chrome witnessed growth by 3.9% in terms of browser market share. But, Firefox 3.5 is far ahead of Chrome, occupying 17.1 % of market share for browser market.

Shimla records warmest winter



SHIMLA - Shimla has recorded the warmest winter in the last five years, in spite of several days of snowfall.

As per the records of the Meteorological Department there, the maximum temperature recorded was five degrees above normal.

“Normal temperature remains 10 degree Celsius, but in January, the temperature recorded was 15 degrees Celsius, which is five degrees above the normal. The minimum temperature remains two degrees Celsius but this time we recorded five degree, which is three degree more than the normal,” said Manohan Singh, Director,Meteorological Centre, Shimla.

The warmer climate has affected sales of woollen garments.

“The winters are not that cold, so we are not able to sell woollen clothes. Even the tourists who come here are not purchasing anything. Sales have declined compared to last year,” said Sukhdev Singh, a shopkeeper.

Shhimla citizens say that massive deforestation and increase in the pollution have led to such a scenario.

“There has been a change in the climate. One of its prime reasons is deforestation, which is resulting in less rainfall, and the other is population growth,” said Ranu Ram, a resident.

The Meteorological Department say the temperature will remain same till the first week of February. (ANI)

Top 10 Richest Indians

India, a country of rich cultural and royal heritage, is booming with its surging economy at a fast pace. With the end of economic slowdown and the rebounding stock market, happy days are back for India Inc. India is now home to 52 billionaires, up from 27 last year and only two short of what India had at the peak of itsstock market boom in 2007. Let’s have a glimpse of the 10 richest Indians.


1. Mukesh Ambani


Net Worth: $32 billion
Age: 52
Marital Status: Married, 3 children
Residence: Mumbai
Chairman, managing director and the largest shareholder of oil and gas conglomerate, Reliance Industries Limited, India’s largest private sector enterprise and a Fortune 500 company. His personal stake in Reliance Industries is 48%. Mukesh Ambani also owns the Indian Premier League team ‘Mumbai Indians’.




2. Lakshmi Niwas Mittal

Net Worth: $30 billion
Age: 59
Marital Status: Married, 2 children
Residence: London
This Indian-Britsh steel magnate is the Chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, the largest steel company in the world. He also serves as a non-executive director of Goldman Sachs, EADS and ICICI Bank and is presently the vice chairman of the World Steel Association. He has stake in British soccer team QPR.



3. Anil Ambani

Net Worth: $17.5 billion
Age: 50
Marital Status: Married, 2 children
Residence: Mumbai
Chairman and a major shareholder of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. He is a member of the Board of Overseers at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the member of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.



4. Azim Premji

Net Worth: $14.9 billion
Age: 64
Marital Status: Married, 2 children
Residence: Bangalore
This Software czar is the Chairman of Wipro, one of the largest software companies in India. Apart from information technology, Wipro has interests in consumer care, lighting, engineering and healthcare businesses.

5. Shashi & Ravi Ruia
Net Worth: $13.6 billion
Age: 65/60
Marital Status: Married, 2 children/Married, 2 children
Residence: Mumbai
The Ruia brothers’ founded the Mumbai based $14 billion (revenues) Essar Group, a multinational conglomerate in the sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping Ports and Logistics as well as Construction. It has weathered the downturn and embarked on an expansion drive in all its businesses. Shashi Ruia, is the Chairman of Essar Group and Ravi Ruia the Vice Chairman. One of India’s largest cellular service companies, Vodafone-Essar is a joint venture of Essar Communication Holdings Ltd and the UK-based Vodafone Group.


6. Kushal Pal Singh

Net Worth: $13.5 billion
Age: 78
Marital Status: Married, 3 children
Residence: Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Chairman and CEO of DLF Universal, India’s biggest real estate developer. DLF has an estimated land bank of 10,255 acres (42 km2) with about 3,000 acres (12 km) being in Gurgaon called DLF City.


7. Savitri Jindal

Net Worth: $12 billion
Age: 59
Marital Status: Widowed, 9 children
Residence: Hisar/Delhi
She is India’s richest woman and the non-executive chairperson of Jindal Steel, and member of Haryana Vidhan Sabha, (Legislative Assembly) MLA.


8. Sunil Mittal

Net Worth: $8.2 billion
Age: 52
Marital Status: Married, 3 children
Residence: Delhi
This Indian telecom mogul is the chairman and managing director of the Bharti group. The US$12 billion turnover company’s flagship Bharti Airtel runs India’s largest GSM-based mobile phone service and is now the world’s third-largest, single-country mobile operator as well as sixth-largest integrated telecom operator.


9. Kumar Mangalam Birla

Net Worth: $7.8 billion
Age: 42
Marital Status: Married, 3 children
Residence: Mumbai
He is the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, whose companies in India include Grasim, Hindalco, UltraTech Cement, Aditya Birla Nuvo, Idea Cellular and Aditya Birla Retail and also the Chancellor of Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani).


10. Gautam Adani

Net Worth: $6.4 billion
Age: 47
Marital Status: Married, 2 children
Residence: Ahmedabad
This trader-turned-industrialist chairs Adani Group, which he founded in 1988 as a commodities trading outfit. It is now a leading trading and export company of India with interests in energy, infrastructure, edible oil manufacturing, headquartered in Ahmedabad, India. His Mundra Port on India’s west coast is country’s biggest in private sector.

Valentine Week: How To Choose Chocolates For Your Valentine

FRANCISCO - With Valentine’s Day just round the corner, love birds all across the globe are gearing up to celebrate the day of love with their valentine. On this special occasion, people bestow their loved ones with gifts to express their love. However, one of the most difficult task is choosing the perfect gift for your special someone.

One of the most popular ways to make your beloved feel special on Valentine’s Day is by gifting them chocolates as one could never go wrong with an assemblage of delectable chocolates. Although chocolates is often considered as the sure shot way of winning the heart of the lady, men are often confused about how to choose chocolates for their Valentine.

One of the very easy as well as innovative ways of pleasing your lady love is by gifting her a box of chocolates with a love note that is sure to make your Valentine drool over you. At the same time, mouthwatering chocolates filled in a heart shape box might also be instrumental in expressing your love for your beloved on this special day.

Meanwhile, one could also go for premium hand-crafted chocolates that are available in all the major shopping stores which offer you a huge variety to choose from. The premium chocolates can be adorned with novelty gifts and can be presented in amazing looking gift boxes that would accentuate its overall appeal.

However, if all this sounds too fancy for you, then just stick to a simple box of delicious chocolates to bring in a bit of romantic touch on Valentine’s Day.

Toyota says Prius had design brake problems

TOKYO -Toyota says there were design problems with the antilock brake system in the new Prius, which went on sale last year.

Toyota Motor Corp. spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said Thursday that Toyota found out there were design problems and corrected the design for Prius models sold since late January.

But it was still investigating how to inform people who had bought them earlier.

Complaints about braking problems in the third-generation Prius have been reported in both the U.S. and Japan, combining to some 180, and come amid massive global recalls of eight car models for faulty gas pedals.

Rahul Gandhi to visit Pondicherry tomorrow

Puducherry, Feb 4 (PTI) AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi will declare open a cricket stadium and interact with students of Pondicherry University at Kalapet near here tomorrow.

The stadium and allied infrastructure have been constructed by the University at a cost of Rs two crore, Director of Culture and Cultural Studies Department in the University, Professor A Balasubramanian said.

The interaction programme is organised by National Students Union of India (NSUI).

This is Rahul Gandhi's second visit to Puducherry.

He had held a similar meeting with students during his earlier visit about a year ago.

Poachers kill one-horned rhino at Kaziranga Park

Kaziranga, Feb 4 (PTI) A rhino was killed by poachers today in the world famous Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in upper Assam's Golaghat district, making it the fourth such incident in the state in the past one month, forest officials said.

Park foresters heard gunshots around 6 am in the Agratoli Range and immediately went to the area to find a bullet-injured female rhino in pain with her horn still intact, the officials said.

Though medical care was immediately provided to the endangered one-horned species, she succumbed to her injuries, they said.

The horn could not be taken away by the poachers as the foresters arrived at the site as soon as they heard the gun-shots, they said.

Agratoli Range of KNP has been cordoned off and over 100 forest staff were combing the forest to prevent the poachers from escaping, they said.

Many rhinos have become victims of poachers in the state this year.

Mizo HM for stringent action against insurgents

Aizawl, Feb 4 (PTI) Mizoram Home Minister R Lalzirliana today said the state government would take stringent action against insurgents and other criminal elements, especially those coming from Myanmar.

Lalzirliana told reporters that insurgents like the Hmar People's Convention (Democrats), operating in Manipur, would not be allowed to indulge in unlawful activities on Mizoram soil.

"We have booked some people who had helped the Hmar insurgents in their activities to extort money from the people living in the border areas," he said.

He said many ethnic Mizos coming from Myanmar are involved in drug trafficking and other criminal activities like murder, rape and robbery. Foreigners Act would be strictly enforced and those committing crime in Mizoram would be deported en masse if they continue illegal activities.

Grammys 2010 Winners

LOS ANGELES — People are searching net to know who are the other Grammy winners of 2010, along with the music maestro A. R. Rahman. In the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Mozart of Madras won double Grammy triumphs for his “Jai Ho” track from ‘Slumdog MIllionaire’, yesterday. Grammy Awards 2010 winners list include Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Neil Young, Steve Martin and many more.

* AR Rahman, the great composer, has once again made India feel proud at the international platform by clinching 2 Grammy awards in the “Best Compilation Soundtrack” and “Best Song” categories.

* Beyonce has won 5 Grammy Awards out of the 10 categories in which she was nominated in the 52nd Grammy Awards. She won the award for ’song of the year’, ‘Best Female R&B Vocal Performance’, ‘Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance’, ‘Best R&B Song’, ‘Best Contemporary R&B Album’.

* Lady Gaga has won the Grammy in two categories — ‘Best Electronic / Dance Album for the Fame’ and ‘Best Dance Recording for Poker Face’.

* Taylor Swift bagged the Grammy for the ‘Best Country Song’ and ‘Best Female Country Vocal Performance’, both for her track “White Horse”.

* Neil Young won the 1st Grammy of his career, bagging the best art direction on his special edition package for Neil Young Archieves Vol.1 (1963-1972).

* Steve Martin, the comedian picked up the Grammy for best bluegrass album for the Crow/new songs for the Five String Banjo.

* Michael Giacchino, film composer also won 2 Grammy for ‘Best Score Soundtrack Album’ and ‘Best Instrumental Composition’ for his work on the Pixar animation Up.

* Ziggly Marley won the Grammy in the children’s musical album category for Family Time. This is 5th Grammy of his career.

* Stephen Marley won the Grammy Award for best reggae album for Mind Control - Acoustic.

The Grammy Awards are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry. The awards ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of more popular interest are presented in a widely-viewed televised ceremony.

No politics behind our resignations: Amar, Jaya

Lucknow, Feb 4 (ANI): Expelled Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders Amar Singh and Jaya Prada on Thursday said there is no politics behind their resignations from the party.

Amar Singh said: "I have no grudges for Mulayam Singh, and there is no politics behind the resignations."


Amar Singh further said, "I wrote blogs inspired by Amitabh Bachchan and all Mulayam Singh''s questions have been answered in my blog."



Further taking a dig at Samajwadi Party, Amar Singh said the party is putting the blame on him for spoiling its reputation, but it was he who got Mulayam''s son Akhilesh Yadav married.



On Sanjay Dutt leaving the party because of him, Amar Singh said it was Mulayam Singh Yadav, who brought him to the party.



SP General Secretary Mohan Singh had on February 2 announced the party''s decision to expel Amar Singh and Lok Sabha member cine star Jaya Prada from the party for violating party norms and spoiling the reputation of the party.



"Some party members have been speaking against Samajwadi Party in the last few months. They (Amar Singh and Jaya Prada) have been expelled because the party''s image was suffering because of them. They were trying to split the party," Mohan Singh said.

Amar Singh had welcomed the move describing it as a blessing for both of them. However, he called the move as dictatorial.



"I had asked for a sick leave from the party for 14 years of work to rest. The party cannot function in a dictatorial and feudal system," Amar Singh said.



"I have been called mad, shameless. This is what I got in return for 14 years of service. Had that not happened, I would have been taking a rest," Amar Singh added referring to the remarks made by Mohan Singh.



Amar Singh further said, "I will not say anything to Mulayam Singhji. He has blessed me. It is a blessing in disguise. He has liberated me."



Amar Singh had resigned from all party posts on January 6 citing health grounds. He was also upset with some members of the party particularly, Ram Gopal Yadav, for publicly criticizing him.



According to reports, the decision was taken following a rift between Yadav and Amar Singh after the party''s poor show in its stronghold, Uttar Pradesh, winning just 20 seats out of 80, in the last general elections. (ANI)

ULFA rejects PC's offer, says no talks with leaders in jail

The banned Assam-based militant outfit ULFA on Wednesday rejected Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's offer for peace talks echoing their chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa's stand "no peace talks with ULFA leaders in jail".

"The ULFA leaders cannot sit for peace talks from jail with handcuffs," jailed ULFA ideologue Bhimkanta Buragohain told reporters in Tezpur where he was produced before a fast track court.

The leaders have to be free for convening meetings of the ULFA's highest decision making committee to decide on peace talks, he said.

Buragohain, whose real name is Bishnujyoti Buragohain, and is addressed as 'Mama' by ULFA cadres, accused Chidambaram of not perceiving the sentiments of the local people.

"Chidambaram is not sensitive to the sentiments of the people here. He is not fully aware about Assam's situation, including its economic problems and geographical set up," he said.

Buragohain also accused some intellectuals of the state of acting as "brokers of the government for negotiating talks between ULFA and government for their own interest".