India looking at another huge target courtesy poor bowling!!!

A day in which the bowlers should have stepped up for the Team and should have stifled the English men for runs landed up giving away easy runs. The message was very clear from the body language of the Indians that they lacked confidence to be there at their best.

On the contrary, the English men made merrier with clumsy bowling attack of India which lacked pace and direction. All the Indian bowlers ended up with a statistics with more than 4 runs per over and this for a test game is not easy to digest. There were spells in which they could have easily tightened up the screws by having more attacking field and showing courage to entice the batsmen to go for their shots. India however was on the defensive mind frame right from the start of the game with only 5 men in the catching positions.

Ian Bell went on to pile up a century stand with KP and toiled the Indian bowlers to every part of the ground. In fact it would be more appropriate to state they made the bowlers bowl the line they wanted them to bowl by walking in front of the wicket when the delivery was bowled. A lot was expected from ‘Bhajji’ but he failed to impress yet again with lumpy and predictable bowling. Having said this it should also be noted that there was no swing whatsoever for the Indian seamers and it looked like a dead wicket on a sunny day.

The day ended with English men piling on 441 runs with a lead of 374 runs on the board. With the kind of bowling performance showed today, team India should not complain the increase in number of international players have their career best against India and the greatest defeats in foreign soil.

Well, it’s predicted that there would be an overcast condition tomorrow in Nottingham and what looked like a flat wicket today will start swinging for the English bowlers and all we can do is pray for the rain gods to help us avoid yet another defeat in foreign soil.

A disappointing day not just for Team India but also for fans like me who want to see them step for the occasion rather just giving it up...!!

TRAK!



Last session of plays spoil sport yet again!!!

After having dismissed the English men for under 250 runs, team India were in the driver’s seat one thought after the first session of play in which the two veterans piled on runs with ease, style and elegance.

Soon after the first session India lost the wickets of Sachin who was caught fending at a delivery which was swinging away from him and Raina with a trail of 70 odd runs. Yuvraj singh along with Dravid put on a partnership of 128 runs to make sure India took a lead of English men. Yuvraj singh had a chance early when he was let off by KP in gully went to score 62 runs and gave a solid stance in the partnership.

After letting off the opportunity given by Yuvraj when he was yet to score, was also given too many easy pickings by the English as the faster bowlers were replaced by spinners who were less effective and it was not a wise move by Strauss to bring on the spinners when everyone knew Yuvraj somehow does not like the quickies especially with swing.

India having surpassed the tally of English men went to tea with 213 runs on the board with Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh undefeated. India were on course to post a lead of more than 150 runs is what was expected at this time of play with Yuvraj Singh finding gaps with ease and Rahul stroking his majestic shots.

It was the last session of play after Tea, Rahul Dravid scored yet another century in this test cricket to equal the record of the legendary ‘Sunny’ Gavaskar with some gorgeous, elegant and picture perfect cricketing shots. Then came the new ball and Stuart board who were the real star of the day went to produce a magical spell scalping not only 4 wickets but also stumbled the India team with his hat trick. India soon realized that they don’t have much as lead in their kitty after being exposed by Board’s magical spell with only 67 runs ahead.

English had eleven overs to see off the day and lost the early wicket of Alistair Cook when he looped one to the gully. England saw off the remaining overs with ease and went back to their hut with one down for 24 runs and trail by 43 runs.

It has been the last session which has been playing the spoil sport for Team India in the test series and it should also be stated it is the brilliance of the English bowlers to exploit the swing that they get with the new ball and the lack of concentration by Indians which they could have easily avoided on day 2 by not losing the flurry of wickets considering two set batsmen at the crease.

It is very interestingly poised at the moment with both the teams on course to put on a stage which will decide the series as it is a game where one would definitely have a result and won’t be a draw unless it rains. A lot will depend on Team India fast bowlers on how they bowl in the first session of play where the bowl will swing and with some clouds in Nottingham as predicted in the forecast.

It’s time for team India to pull their socks and tighten the screws to win this battle to level the series.

Cheers...TRAK!!!

A fine day at the office for Team India!

After getting slammed by media, cricketers and having lost the first game by huge margin. India had to make a good start at day one of the second test against the English men in Nottingham.

Day 1, started with a positive note with India winning the toss in a wicket which was meant for seamers. India brought in Sreesanth in place for ‘ZAK’ and Yuvraj Singh in for ‘Gautam Gambhir’. Indian bowling unit looked more organized and in control with the red cherry swinging both side of the wicket for the seamers.

The seamers holed in to the English batting early in the game and went to lunch as a happy bunch having scalped two wickets in the first session of play. Post lunch, started also started in a good note for India scaping the centurion of the first match with 73 runs on the board for England. Soon after the dismissal of KP, the batting order for England fell like a pack of cards and went to tea with a score of 8 down for 124 runs on the board. Thanks to an excellent bowling spell orchestrated by Sresanth, Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar.

It was left to the later order batsmen to battle the last session of the day. One would have thought India would bowl out India for a cheaper score but Stuart Board had different plans and scored 64 runs to take England to decent score of 221.

With a decent score on the board and on a seaming wicket the English men made an early break by scalping Abhinav Mukund with the first delivery of the game. One would have expected him to stay at the crease with the ‘The Wall’ and fend the balls to see of the day without losing wickets and the contrary he had to depart with no runs on the board. The ever stylish Laxman joined in with Dravid yet another time and ensured that India sees of the day without losing another wicket as the cherry was swinging at will. Overall, the day belonged to India except the last session had there not been the score of Stuart Board.

It’s all playing session by session to see of the day two for India tomorrow with bright and sunny weather in Nottingham and the day looks promising with Sachin as the next batsman for india. All a cricketing fan including me is to see the 100th ton by the little master tomorrow....!

Cheers...TRAK!

Hydro-Powered Phone!

The new mantra in the field of mobile technology is to ‘Go Blue’ rather ‘Go Green’. ‘Go Blue’ is an initiative to make water as the source of power for mobile phones which would also mean that these phones would not be emitting gases which are hazardous for the environment.

The spearheading organization for this initiative is SAMSUNG who are all geared up to present this innovative mobile phone that would use water as the source for charging. The micro fuel cell and hydrogen generator is the new development by SAMSUNG that facilitates the handsets for around 10 hours on water.

When the mobile is turned on, metal and water in the phone reacts to produce Hydrogen Gas. The gas is then supplied to the fuel cell where it reacts with oxygen in the air to generate power for the mobile phone.

This again has been a product that has been produced by SAMSUNG already however; the organization is still testing further on improving the product before its launch. The gadget sounds interesting with water as the source for charging but we would have to wait until the product is unveiled to comment more on it.

Cheers...TRAK!

Plantbook!!!

‘Go green’ awareness has spread globally amongst various organizations and there are numerous new initiatives that have been adopted in an attempt to make the world a place to live not just now and for the next generations as well.

Advertisements these days make an attempt to put forward one element in the mind of the audience in almost all the products and that is how environment friendly their product is. One such attempt by Hyerim Kim and Seunggi Baek is the eco friendly notebook that would works on water and would emit oxygen.

The eco friendly notebooks are called as ‘Plant book’ as they would emit oxygen instead of gases that harm the environment. The notebook mechanism is stirred from the water absorbing abilities of a bamboo tree as per Yanko Design’s report. The notebook generates power to be operated through electrolysis when placed in water.  Water is the power source for the notebook as it basically requires hydrogen to fulfil its energy demands. The notebook uses the hydrogen and discharges the oxygen which is left out. The notebook gets charged if placed in water and when it turned off completely.

One of the key features of the notebooks is its screen with two plates which can be rolled over easily and placed in an external water container or in bottle. The top plate of the notebook stores solar energy which produces the electrolysis when it comes in contact with water.

The notebook not only is ecological but also is an attractive gadget which is easy to carry and charge with its roll – over form factor. The notebook also includes silicon strap shaped leaf hanging out at one of corners with green LED to indicate battery of the laptop.

Having said all this, the notebook is at the pre – mature state to draw conclusions and there are many doubts how would it be? Would this notebook be cost effective as well? Well, we have to wait until the actual plant book is unveiled.

Cheers...TRAK!

A new game and a new challenge for Team India!

Team India, after having losing the historic first game take on the aspiring England team in this riveting Test series at Nottingham tomorrow. Team India has been criticized very heavily after they lost first test against the Englishmen by a huge margin in Lords. Veterans not only slammed Team India by calling the first game as ‘Warm up game’ approach but have also questioned the ever cool Indian captain for letting spinners bowl in the 2^nd session of day 4 as the English men went on to pile a huge target for Team India to be chased on day 5.

It is time for Team India to step up for the moment and to prove why they enjoy the ‘Numero uno’ position in test and limited formats of the game presently. Youngsters who are in the team and who are selected to play for India should seize this opportunity in the absence of India’s spearhead bowler ‘ZAK’ and make it count for Team India.

The English team would be very confident and would be ready to face the challenge tomorrow against Team India with their tail up having beaten them by a huge margin early this week. On the contrary, the Indians should be right on all the moves they make tomorrow starting from the toss which would be pivotal as Nottingham wicket is known for its swing.

Speaking about swing and bowling, Team India will miss the speedster tomorrow who is down with hamstring issues. Team India should have seen this coming especially with games one after another played these days. It would be nice to see if the BCCI feels the need for backing up key players when it comes to playing in big occasions as the players over the period of time grow old and worn out slowly. It is anticipated that Sreesanth will replace ZAK tomorrow and we all know he can swing the red cherry on any given day and hope the cherry swings in Nottingham for Team Indian. The weather throughout the day is slated to sunny with 18 degree centigrade.

The batting line up may also have a change for tomorrow’s game as Gautam Gambhir is still recovering from the blow on Saturday last week. Yuvraj would be the first choice up for Gautam Gambhir and probably we would see ‘The Wall’ open the innings with the youngster and yuvraj at three or four down in the order. It would be a big occasion for Yuvraj as well to prove and let everyone know that he is suitable for all formats of the game. Having said all this, Team India has very strong batting line up and they should focus on winning every session they play tomorrow and the first session will be very crucial which includes toss.

The English men will be definitely keen on getting things right and would like to win their game to topple Team India from ‘Numero Uno’ position in Test cricket. However, I think that Team India will put forward their best tomorrow to win the game.

I’m cheering for Team India tomorrow ...who are you cheering for?

Jai Ho...TRAK!

What makes the android based phones a hot gadget?

In a competitive world as it is today, to launch a new technology and to give a run for its money amongst the giants is a difficult task. However, this was easy for Android based mobile phones as they have just taken the market by a storm with their user friendly features.

Most of us have already started using Android phones or thinking to go for it already, but do we know what the history of android operating system is? Where did it all began and how?

Google acquired Android inc. in 2005 and made Android inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Google Inc. The founders and key staff including Andy Rubin, Rich miner and Chris White stayed at the company after the acquisition. In the year 2007 Google filed several patent applications in the field of mobile technology.

On November 5, 2007, the Open Handset Alliance, a group of several companies which include Broadcom Corporation, Google, HTC, Intel, LG, Marvell Technology Group, Motorola, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and Texas Instruments unveiled itself. The goal of the Open Handset Alliance was to develop open standards for mobile devices. On the same day, the Open Handset Alliance also unveiled their first product, Android, a mobile device platform built on the Linux kernel version 2.6.

Over a period of time everyone requires a change and so did Androids. Androids have had various changes to the base operating system usually added new features and bug fixes. Every new version of the Androids is named after a dessert. Some of the most popular ones are Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb and the upcoming Ice cream sandwich.

Some of the current features and specifications that are listed below are the key which makes these androids more powerful.

Features	Specifications
Handset layouts	The platform is adaptable to larger, VGA, 2D graphics library, 3D graphics library based on OpenGL ES 2.0 specifications, and traditional smartphone layouts.
Storage	SQLite, a lightweight relational database, is used for data storage purposes
Connectivity	Android supports connectivity technologies including GSM/EDGE, IDEN, CDMA, EV-DO, UMTS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (no connections through Proxy server and no Ad hoc wireless network), LTE, NFC and WiMAX.
Messaging	SMS and MMS are available forms of messaging, including threaded text messaging and now Android Cloud To Device Messaging Framework(C2DM) is also a part of Android Push Messaging service.
Multiple language support	Android supports multiple human languages. The number of languages more than doubled for the platform 2.3 Gingerbread. Android lacks font rendering of several languages even after official announcements of added support (e.g. Hindi).
Web browser	The web browser available in Android is based on the open-source WebKit layout engine, coupled with Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. The browser scores a 93/100 on the Acid3 Test.
Java support	While most Android applications are written in Java, there is no Java Virtual Machine in the platform and Java byte code is not executed. Java classes are compiled into Dalvik executables and run on Dalvik, a specialized virtual machine designed specifically for Android and optimized for battery-powered mobile devices with limited memory and CPU. J2ME support can be provided via third-party applications.
Media support	Android supports the following audio/video/still media formats: WebM, H.263, H.264 (in 3GP or MP4 container), MPEG-4 SP, AMR, AMR-WB (in 3GP container), AAC, HE-AAC (in MP4 or 3GP container), MP3, MIDI, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WAV, JPEG, PNG, GIF (though earlier versions do not support animated GIFs), BMP.
Streaming media support	RTP/RTSP streaming (3GPP PSS, ISMA), HTML progressive download (HTML5 <video> tag). Adobe Flash Streaming (RTMP) and HTTP Dynamic Streaming are supported by the Flash plugin.Apple HTTP Live Streaming is supported by RealPlayer for Mobile, and by the operating system in Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). Microsoft Smooth Streaming is planned to be supported through the awaited port of Silverlight plugin to Android.
Additional hardware support	Android can use video/still cameras, touchscreens, GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, dedicated gaming controls, proximity and pressure sensors, thermometers, accelerated 2D bit blits (with hardware orientation, scaling, pixel format conversion) and accelerated 3D graphics.
Multi-touch	Android has native support for multi-touch which was initially made available in handsets such as the HTC Hero. The feature was originally disabled at the kernel level (possibly to avoid infringing Apple's patents on touch-screen technology at the time). Google has since released an update for the Nexus One and the Motorola Droid which enables multi-touch natively.
Bluetooth	Supports A2DP, AVRCP, sending files (OPP), accessing the phone book (PBAP), voice dialing and sending contacts between phones. Keyboard, mouse and joystick (HID) support is available through manufacturer customizations and third-party applications. Full HID support is planned for Android 3.0 (Honeycomb).
Video calling	Android does not support native video calling, but some handsets have a customized version of the operating system that supports it, either via the UMTS network (like the Samsung Galaxy S) or over IP. Video calling through Google Talk is available in Android 2.3.4 and later.
Multitasking	Multitasking of applications is available.
Voice based features	Google search through voice has been available since initial release. Voice actions for calling, texting, navigation, etc. are supported on Android 2.2 onwards.
Tethering	Android supports tethering, which allows a phone to be used as a wireless/wired hotspot. Before Android 2.2 this was supported by third-party applications or manufacturer customizations.
Screen capture	Android does not support screenshot capture as of 2011. This is supported by manufacturer and third-party customizations.

Android operating systems are not only used in mobiles but they are also now widely used for netbooks, tablets, Google devices and other devices. Did you know HTC Dream was the first phone to run Android as operating system and since then there has not been looking back for Android Operating system.

Some statistics for those who love to evaluate by numbers, the market share worldwide for the android phone was 2.8% and in Q4 of 2010 this had grown to 33% and became the top – selling smart phone platform. In May 2010, android’s first quarter U.S. Sales surpassed that of the rival iPhone platform. According to a report by the NPD group, Android achieved 25% smart phone sales in the US market, up 8% from the December quarter. In Q4 2010 Android had 59% of the total installed user base of Apple's iOS in the U.S. and 46% of the total installed user base of iOS in Europe.

As of June 2011, Google said that 550,000 new Android devices were being activated every day—up from 400,000 per day two months earlier in May 2011 and more than 100 million devices have been activated. Android hit 300,000 activations per day back in December 2010. In July 14, 2011 550,000 Android devices are now activated by Google each day with growth 4.4 percent per week.

Android based gadgets are the latest buzz in the world of technology. I’m planning one for myself...and you?

Cheers....TRAK!

Himesh is back with ‘BodyGuard’

Finally, the music of the much awaited movie ‘BodyGuard’ is out. I have listened to it and I know that you’d also love them once you would hear this soundtrack. The album has four main tracks and seven remixes along with an instrumental theme music.  The music is composed by Himesh Reshammiya and Pritam. Three songs by Himesh and one by Pritam (song: I love you).

Tracks:

1.       BodyGuard – This song will be a rage amongst everyone not just the fans of Salman. Remember the dialogue from the movie ‘Wanted’ ek baar commitment kar di, toh khud ki bhi nahi sunta? This track also has a dialogue from the man himself in which he says ‘mujh par ek ehsaan karna ke mujh par koi ehsaan na karna’ which would be an instant hit.

2.       I love you – This track is composed by Pritam and is sung by Ash King and Clinton Cerejo. This is the song you might have seen in the theatrical of the movie. This is one of the song from the track is very soothing and is hummable the first time you hear it.

3.       Teri Meri – This is an emotional and the sweetest romantic track of the album sung by none other than Shreya Ghosal and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. This for me is the stand out track of the album and has a superb feel listening to it with alaaps and vibratos. Easily one of the best songs of Himesh Reshammiya till date. Listen to it, you’d love it.

4.       Desi Beat – The beginning music of the song reminds of you a song in the earlier days however this is an out and out Punjabi song with dhol and tun tuna’s sound in it, sung by Mika Singh and Amrita Kakkar. There is a funny element to the sound and will be liked by those who appreciate Punjabi beats in a song with Punjabi lyrics.

Although Himesh Reshammiya has composed the music for ‘BodyGuard’ outside of his own films has not sung any of the tracks in the album which is disappointing for all the fans of Himesh including me. On the whole, the soundtrack has got all the elements one would like to hear and the standout songs of the album are ‘Teri Meri’ by Shreya Ghoshal and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, ‘I love you’ by Ash king and Clinton Cerejo.

Listen to the sountrack: http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/audiolisting/14340/index.html

Cheers...TRAK!!!

You can also be a film maker with the latest trend of film making!!!

 Have you ever given a thought what is the camera that is used by film makers to give us a glossy and high definition look on big screen? What is the latest trend in movie making? Why and what has distinctly changed in the way a movie is shot to give us more clear and wide screen view especially in the recently releases?

The latest trend in digital film making is the usage ‘Digital Single Lens Reflex’ (DSLR) cameras for filming. The early adaptors for these DSLR cameras state that they are not only small in size but also captures a wide arrange of shots which is a difficult task with a normal and conventional camera.

Another advantage for a movie maker is the DSLR cameras are cost effective and they save a lot of time. The most popular among these DSLR cameras or rather the one that is used by most of the popular film makers are Canon 5D Mark II or Canon 7D (5.8 x 4.4 x 2.9 inches). There are a wide range of DSLR Cameras available in the market which includes Canon 60D, Panasonic GH2, Nikon D7000 and many others.

Few of the film makers have also eliminated the Director of Photography (D.O.P) who used to set lighting before each sequence was shot by the cameraman. Now, there are 10 - 12 cameramen (depending on the sequence that is shot) carrying these relatively small DSLR cameras filming a particular sequence and the film maker along with the editor give us the best of the shot at the end of the day in the big screen.

The new trend of film making has also caught up with Indian film makers and the early adaptors include Ace film makers Ram Gopal Varma, Anurag Kashyap, Amole Gupte , Bijoy Nambiar and Lingusamy. The movies shot with these cameras speak for themselves and makes one wonder why was this not used earlier? Some of the forthcoming movies ‘Not a love story’, ‘The girl in yellow boots’, ‘Vazhakku en 18/09’ and the recently released movies ‘Stanley ka dabba’, ‘Dongala Mutha’ and few sequences of ‘Shaitaan’ were are also shot using these DSLR cameras.



For those who are thinking what was the first movie to be shot with this camera? It was a movie named ‘Searching for Sonny’ in year 2009. Various institutions who train talents to become a cinematographer have also adapted to these DSLR’s and one such is FX school in Andheri. The most interesting feature of these cameras is the capability of video recording in low-lights, records 23.976 frames per second and the movies clips can be up to 4GB in size, approximately 12 minutes of 16:9 HD (1920×1080) or 24 minutes of 4:3 SD (640×480) footage (depending on scene complexity). Video clips are recorded as Quicktime MOV files with H.264/MPEG-4 compressed video and uncompressed PCM audio at 48 kHz. HD bit rate is approximately 38 Megabits per second (4.8MB/sec) and SD bit rate is approximately 17 Megabits per second (2.2MB/sec).  If one can afford to buy this camera which is around 1500USD, one can start film making with ease unlike the earlier days.

If you are bored with your regular work, if you aspire to make movies and if you have this camera with you ...you can try you bit with film making!!!

Feel the difference of camera work here:

Stanley ka dabba: http://youtu.be/Fdd9Y166JXY 

Not a love story: http://youtu.be/wq2mzb0afNw

Cheers...TRAK!

A season of sequels!!!

Guy Ritchie comes up with the 2nd instalment of Sherlock Holmes (A Game of Shadows) series starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. The theatrical is collection of stylishly shot action sequences and a mix of light moments from the film. If you are a movie fanatic, you would certainly not like to miss this one out. Releasing this fall!!!

Teaser: http://youtu.be/lNxhpNpnAkk

Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris

More about the movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1515091/

After giving blockbusters one after another Christopher Nolan presents 'The Dark Knight Rises' to complete the trilogy of the Batman series. The first look of the movie was launched last week and has already got a tremendous response as Christian Bale beefs up to return as Batman on screen. The first look is a collection of earlier instalments of the movie but still makes it worth watching and is the most awaited movie of 2012.

Teaser: http://youtu.be/apMXFloDH6M

Stars: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

More about the movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1345836/

Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire may have bid adieu to Spiderman but Columbia pictures has different thoughts as they bring you once again to relive Spiderman in this latest edition of ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ with Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Irrfan Khan as ‘Goblin’. The First look of the movie is strong and gripping but one would have to wait and see if it relives what earlier ‘Spiderman’ offered us. The Amazing Spiderman comes to screen on March 07, 2012.

http://youtu.be/_XayxMPrUP4

Stars: Andrew Garfield, Irrfan Khan

More about the movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0948470/

The story of Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat may have been told in the earlier version of the movie but where did it all start? Why did it start is a question we all have had ever since the first Paranormal Activity got released. Well, the prequel for the movie’s first look is out and can be seen in theatres on October 21, 2011. The second instalment might not have scared you as much as the first one did but the third one in its preview looks promising and all set to scare us once again. A movie in my wish list to see, is it in your list as well? Of course not for faint hearts....Paranormal Activity 3.

http://youtu.be/90r3CnPI0AM

More about the movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1778304/

Warner Bros. & New line cinema brings yet another episode of premonition in digital 3D. The story remains the same a guy has a premonition of the bridge collapsing and he saves passengers in the bus but death has its own pattern of killing. The death decides how, fate decides when and you decide who while you try to stop this pattern that is the first take of the movie teaser of ‘Final Destination 5’. We all loved trilogy of the movie and after a disappointing fourth instalment of the movie hope this one lives its worth and sets it right for the movie lovers in Digital 3D this summer.

http://youtu.be/uKzvYB9Wke0

Stars: Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell and Arlen Escarpeta

More about the movie:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1622979/

I will be watching all these movies definitely....how about you? TRAK!!!