New top brass for FICCI

Syed Ershad Ahmed has recently been elected president of Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Bangladesh for 2011-13 period, the chamber said in a statement.

The chamber also re-elected Laurent Therond as the body's vice president for the same period.

Ahmed is the managing director of Expeditors (Bangladesh) Ltd, a subsidiary of Expeditors Int'l of Washington, Inc, the statement added.

Former president of American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh and former director of the executive committee of FICCI, Ahmed also worked with Philips and Singer.

Therond is the managing director of Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. He also served the chilled dairy business unit of Nestle Egypt as general manager and Nestle Kuwait General Trading Company as the managing director.

He is also the treasurer of the Swiss Business Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

India replay strongly

India master batsman Rahul Dravid unleashes a classy cover drive during his innings of 82 on the third day of the third Test against the West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai yesterday. Dravid was the second batsman to go past 13,000 Test runs in the course of his innings. Photo: AFP

Server crowned Asia's best

Uzbekistan's Server Djeparov was crowned Asian Player of the Year for the second time in his career at a glittering awards ceremony on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old attacking midfielder, who also won the award in 2008, got the nod for his influential displays in Uzbekistan's run to the Asian Cup semifinals and for helping former club FC Seoul to the South Korean double.

"This is my second time I receive this honour. It's a great pleasure for me -- this is very important for me and also very important for the Uzbekistan people.”

Cultural programme at South Asia Social Forum

The five-day South Asia Social Forum (SASF) Bangladesh 2011 ended with high hopes and determination to build a new South Asia. The event was organised on a large scale at different venues of Dhaka University (DU) campus. The closing ceremony of the event at the Shadhinota Stombho, Suhrawardy Udyan was held in the capital on November 22.

The official statement of the event was read out by World Social Forum leader Amit Sengupta. Vice Chancellor of DU, Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique, presided over the programme.

Chairman of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation, Bangladesh, Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman; Chico Whitaker of Brazil; Lidy Nacpil of Philippines; Karamat Ali, Farooq Tariq and Shakila Naz of Pakistan; Dr. Keshav Khadka of Nepal; Ahmad Jardar of Palestine; Binod Rayna and Sameer Dossani of India; Chairman of Manusher Jonno Foundation, Shaheen Anam; Farah Kabir of Action Aid, Bangladesh; MB Akhter of Oxfam GB, Bangladesh; Khushi Kabir of Nijera Kori, Bangladesh along with many eminent national and international personalities were present and spoke at the closing ceremony.

A cultural programme featuring solo and choral renditions, along with vibrant dance presentations, was held at the venue. Patriotic and Baul songs dominated the repertoire.

Artistes of Udichi Narayanganj unit started with the chorus “Jai Bangla Banglar Jai”. Their performances of two Lalon numbers -- “Onashey Dekhtey Pabi Kon Khaney Shai-r Baramkhana” and “Raat Pohaley Pakhi Boley Dere Khai” -- were vibrant and rhythmic, and earned a round of applause.

Sameer Baul and his troupe also performed Baul songs at the event. Noted Tagore singer Rezwana Chowdhury Bonnya rendered “Aguner Poroshmoni” and “Jodi Tor Daak Shuney Keu Na Ashey”. Members of the classical based fusion band Chirkut also performed at the programme. Chirkut started off with the timeless DL Roy number “Dhono Dhanyo Pushpo Bhora”. Mahmud Selim also presented a solo at the programme.

Choreographed by Wasek and Prema, artistes of Nandan Kala Kendra and Bhabna performed dance pieces on the occasion while dancers of Spondon presented a piece, titled “Amader Jatra Holo Shuru”. Anik Basu choreographed the piece.

The highlight of the cultural event was showcasing Raibeshe, a popular and exquisite martial dance form of Bengal, by the artistes of Shadhona. Raibeshe (meaning “royal bamboo”) was used by lathiyal deployed by the feudal lords. It is believed that during the reign of Raja Protapaditya (of Jessore region), there were around 52,000 Raibeshey who performed this dance to boost the morale of soldiers. Aside from playing the Bangla dhol, dhuli (dhol player) Shafiq produced a series of bol during the performance. Amit, Biju and Arpita choreographed the much-appreciated piece.

An Actor's Spyglass Pierrot le Fou: Life, nothing else but life

Many of us want to do whatever we want. In fact every human in this mechanised world wants to break free. Freedom of expression. Freedom of choice. Freedom to lose control and get away. Particularly, when in love, there is a burning desire in almost everyone at times to jump from the sky, fall into the ocean, walk on a rope, enjoy every moment the way one wants.

“Pierrot le Fou” is a film in which you can find that kind of expression. This Jean-Luc Godard film (1965) embodies all the ideas that French New Wave cinema is all about. French New Wave was mostly inspired by the Italian Neorealism. This trend evolved from unconventional way of expressing the emotions through editing, colour correction, visual style etc. Pioneers of this style include François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Éric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol and Jacques Rivette. “Pierrot le Fou” was the 15th highest grossing film of 1965 with a total of 1,310,580 admissions in France.

It's a film about lovers -- Ferdinand Griffon (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and Marianne Renoir (Anna Karina). The audience discovers that they know each other from the past but now they are separated. Ferdinand is married to a rich man's daughter and unemployed and Marianne has come to Ferdinand's home to take care of his daughter as a babysitter just for the night. Ferdinand is persuaded by his wife to go to a party at his in-laws, even though he is reluctant to move. He leaves the party shortly though, and comes home. He starts chatting with his former lover, Marianne, and they decide to elope. They have no money, no place to live, get embroiled in a murder, steal a car, and become fugitives. They take the audience on an adventure.

They read poems at the beach, have breakfast with a parrot, run in the woods and passionately demonstrate their love for each other -- without a care in the world. When you watch the film, you'd feel that sense of freedom and that carefree love the protagonists share despite facing thousands of hazards. The film has a fantastic twist but I won't spoil it for you by disclosing it.

“Pierrot le Fou” is a poetic, visual representation of various ideas and makes clear statements against wars around the world. The director has incorporated his views and the film manifests the characteristics of New Wave cinema beautifully. In the film, an American filmmaker explains what film is to the Americans, and the audience learns about Jean-Luc Godard's take on cinema: “A film is like a battleground; it is love, hate, action, violence, death -- in one word emotions.”

Miguel Oliver exhibition at Gallery Chitrak

Gallery Chitrak will host a 10-day solo painting exhibition of renowned Spanish artist Miguel Oliver. The exhibition begins tomorrow.

Cultural personality and lawmaker Asasuzzaman Noor will inaugurate the exhibition as chief guest. Bangladeshi expatriate painter Shahabuddin Ahmed and poet Rabiul Hussain will be present as special guests at the opening. Noted architect and art critic Shamsul Wares will preside over the programme.

Oliver was born in 1968 in Spain. As student of architecture, he started painting in the early 1990s. In 1993, he opened his studio in Costa Rica and later on in 1997 moved to Buenos Aires. He has been living in Madrid since 2001 and has visited Bangladesh several times.

Oliver focuses on the human form, both male and female visages and still life. He is a powerful painter, and drawing is a major aspect of his works. His paintings are realistic.

Oliver has participated in a number of art fairs and group exhibitions. He has held several solo exhibitions in Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina and others countries.

Portrait of Time Group art exhibition at Zainul Gallery

A five-day group art exhibition, titled 'Portrait of Time', opened on November 19 at Zainul Gallery, Faculty of Fine Arts (FFA), on Dhaka University campus.

Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University, AAMS Arefin Siddique, inaugurated the exhibition as chief guest. Renowned sculptor Hamiduzzaman Khan, artist Lalarukh Selim and Dean of FFA, Professor Matlub Ali, were present at the inaugural.

Five of the six participating artists were MFA (second part) students -- Ashim Halder Sagor (Ceramics), Gopal Chandra Saha (Oriental Art), Maharunnessa Nipa (Crafts), Uma Mandal (Printmaking) and Forhad Uddin Masum (Drawing and Painting). Shyamal Chandra Sarker was a freelance artist who also completed his MFA from the Department of Sculpture, FFA a few years back.

Twenty-five artworks in various media including woodcarving, watercolour, raku, serigraph, acrylic, and etching aquatint are on display.

With his sincere commitment to the research-based and thematic exploration of ceramics, Sagor showcased his three new works, titled “Catharsis-2” (raku), “Me & My Myth-6” (white glaze with enamel paint), and “Searching Reality” (terracotta) at the exhibition. The life that represents present and the time that is flowing is the ultimate expression of Sagor's work. Sagor is also passionate about capturing the incongruence of society through his works.

Gopal wants an accident free life. The sound and stack of broken pieces of glass on roads haunt him as these shatter dreams. Yet people want to see their reflections on glass again. His watercolour, “Man of Light”, portrays the image of a melancholic Mother Teresa. Geometric shapes dominate his light golden and azure mingled watercolour. Deft use of colour symbolises his artistic subtleness.

Masum believes that time and space always generates chaos and conflict among men. His artworks tell the story of life, time, space and broken dreams.

Nipa, coming out of the conventional configuration, displays experimental works. She uses her own portrait in several of her serigraphs where spectacular Arabic calligraphy is to be found. Diversity in subject, use of colour and expression of thought are apparent, incorporating her adolescence and spirituality.

The theme of Shyamal's works has been inspired by our National Poet: “The best of the creation -- half accomplished by women and half by men”. She showcases three semi-abstract woodcarvings (man, horse and dog) that delineate beauty with dexterity.

“All is unending to the eye of childhood. We grow up learning in a socially constructed confined ambiance. The days of flying kites and throwing tops gradually lead a child to harsh reality. The young ones constantly learn from nature and the experience of drawing lines, success of recognising letters, showing of dominance and jilted feelings of ignorance remain afresh in her/his subconscious mind. I tried to depict that feeling of a child in my series called 'Boyhood',” said Uma.

The exhibition ended on November 23.

Why silent movies are golden once more

A silent film hasn't won the Oscar for best picture since “Wings” took the top prize at the very first ceremony in 1929. A year later, the talkies had taken hold, and it's fair to say they have dominated the awards ever since. But now, for the first time in more than 80 years, a silent movie is being talked up as a real Oscars contender.

“The Artist” is a French film, but set in Hollywood at the end of the silent era, and shot like one of the very best films from that time. That means it's black-and-white, it uses the squarer “Academy Ratio” frame rather than widescreen and, yes, it's silent. It's a beguiling, “A Star is Born”/”Singin' in the Rain” story of two lovers whose paths and careers cross -- a leading man from the silent days falls down on his luck, while a young flapper named Peppy makes it big in talking pictures.

But while “The Artist” is self-conscious about being a silent film, it's not just a novelty; it's a funny, beautifully made romance, and it's not so much of a surprise that it is being released in a prime position for awards season. In fact, “The Artist” has already won some big prizes -- including best actor at Cannes for its suave lead, Jean Dujardin, and the same festival's unofficial Palm Dog trophy for Uggy, its scene-stealing terrier.

If you still don't believe such a retro movie could get the Oscar nominations, or even the audiences, you may be in for a shock. Hollywood is nostalgic for the early 20th century at the moment. Woody Allen's latest, “Midnight in Paris”, was a declaration of love for the 1920s. Martin Scorsese is at it too, with the prohibition-era TV series “Boardwalk Empire” and his new film “Hugo”, a 3D adventure for children. Pedro Almodovar has even said that he considered making “The Skin I Live In” as a silent film.

Of course, it's not the end of the road for the talkies, but “The Artist” is about to remind us of what we lost when synchronised sound came in -- and we haven't heard the last of silent cinema.

Tech Photo Med tools for iPhone

A woman tests an iPhone device for measuring body temperature (right) and bloodpressure (left) at the "Medica World Forum for Medicine" (MEDICA) fair on November 17 in Duesseldorf, western Germany. Photo: AFP

AjkerDeal.com: Hot deals and more...

AjkerDeal.com, an initiative by BdJobs.com, the largest job portal of the country, has officially started its operation, says a press release.

The website, AjkerDeal, is an e-commerce site which offers special and discounted deals on various products and services every day. However, the deals are valid for a certain period.

To get the deals, buyers have to collect coupon from AjkerDeal website by paying online with debit or credit cards and show it to the authorities concerned.

AjkerDeal offers discounted deals on popular businesses like dining, travel, entertainment, movies, spa, healthcare services, fitness centers, beauty parlors, internet service, computers, laptops, fashion products and more on a regular basis.

Similar services were launched by Akhoni.com earlier this year.

Nokia N9 All it takes is a swipe

Nokia N9, the much-anticipated smartphone from Nokia will hit the local market next week. Let's have a look at the N9, the first ever pure touch phone with no buttons.

So far this is the best-looking and slickest device from Nokia. Its awesome design, display and ease to use make it reasonable alternative to Android and iPhones.

Having said that, the phone still lags the flexibility of Android or iOS's number and quality of third party applications. But the N9 App market gained numbers after its launch and the phone comes with some preloaded apps and games such as facebook, twitter, skype and more.

With MeeGo as the operating system, the user experience of the N9 feels natural. Swiping from edge-to-edge to unlock the screen, go back to the default home screen or see important notifications is effortless and easy.

The idea around navigating the N9 is that whenever you are in an application you simply swipe from the edge of the screen (either side) to go back to the home screens. However, there is no back button.

You can also set the N9 to close apps by swiping down when in an app.

The N9 interface is based around three "home views" an applications screen that lists all your apps, a notifications screen for calls, messages, calendar events and social networking feeds and a currently open applications screen.

The casing of the phone is made of polycarbonate monolith. The back is slightly curved with an oval chrome-finished pod that's flush with the body and houses eight megapixel autofocus camera. There is a dual-LED flash to the left of the lens.

The front is almost all-screen with no buttons, and just a tiny slit for the earpiece on top. Curved Gorilla glass flows into the bezel like liquid spilling onto a flat surface. It has 3.9-inch FWVGA (854x480) ClearBlack AMOLED display to rival Samsung's Super AMOLED screen.

The volume controller and power / lock keys are on the right side. A speaker and microphone are at the bottom and at the top side there is 3.5mm headphone jack, a machined door protecting the micro-USB connector and the micro SIM tray.

The battery is sealed and there is no microSD card slot, but the N9 comes with 16GB of built-in flash storage. The 135g phone feels solid and comfortable in hand.

The phone will have a pricetag of Taka 52,000.

3rd CFICC winners awarded

The award giving ceremony for the third “Citi Financial IT Case Competition (CFICC)”, a financial systems development contest for students, was held on October 19 at a hotel in the capital.

With an aim to offer opportunities for undergraduate students in the public and private universities to compete in the development of unique information system solutions for the financial sector of the country, the competition was organised by D.Net and Citibank, N.A. Bangladesh.

This year, 65 teams from 22 public and private universities across the Bangladesh participated in the contest.

The teams competed at four different stages and the top five were chosen to compete in the final round held on October 1.

Throughout the four rounds, a jury panel of prominent professionals assessed the case solutions based on the project evaluation guidelines.

BUET's Spondon championed the contest and received USD 3,000; IBA's Chrome received USD 2,000 as the first runner up; BUET's ThunderStorm won USD 1,000 as the second runner-up; and BUET's Snipers and Chariots' each won USD 500 as the third runner-ups.

Bcs Ict World 2011 ICT extravaganza ends today

The vibrant five-day BCS ICT World 2011 fair will end at 8:00pm today. So if you haven't been there, today's your last chance.

As always, the exposition has been oganised by Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) and is being held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.

Tech-savvies have been thronging the fair to taste and buy the latest devices from the day it started. Laptops and other mobile devices are topping their priority list.

Fifty local and foreign companies are participating at the fair with 70 stalls and 30 pavilions. Exhibitors expressed their satisfaction with the crowd saying sale rates are very impressive in this year's fair.

Participant companies are offering discounted prices and gifts with their products.

Visitors too showed contentment with prices. In fact, some of them came to the fair only to buy gadgets at special rate. Rumon Ahmed, a student of Rajshahi University came to Dhaka only for the fair. “I have been saving money to buy a laptop from the fair”, said Ahmed.

To make the fair more attractive and fun, organisers have arranged entertainment programmes with musical shows, interactive sessions with celebrities and more.

For the first time in Bangladesh, a web fair, ICT World Web Fair, has also been arranged at the expo.

Visitors can take part at the web fair by logging on to the website (bcsictworld.com.bd) of the expo and win prizes every day. However, to win prizes, s/he has to register.

At the fair, visitors also get to try the 4G (4th generation) internet, online video streaming, IP TV, online radio and internet gaming. Besides, there is also a dedicated gaming zone.

Like previous BCS fairs, painting competitions for children are also there. The fair has digital art competition which is free for all and quiz contest. Raffle draws on entry tickets give the visitors a chance to win laptops, smartphones and other latest gadgets.

Entry fee to the fair is Tk 20. But, as always, entry is free for the school children, provided they show their ID cards.

Five seminars on information technology and Bangladesh have also been arranged on the sideline of the fair.

Organisers expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the fair.

Sense Out Of Chaos Europa has lakes!

Beneath its glossy veneer, Europa's frozen crust might be carved into something resembling Swiss cheese, with enormous cavities of liquid water tucked into the rock-hard ice.

One of the buried lakes on Jupiter's watery moon, lurking a few kilometers below a region called Thera Macula, contains at least as much water as the U.S. Great Lakes, scientists report online November 16 in Nature.

These hidden Europan reservoirs would explain jumbled, chaotic surface features that have puzzled scientists for more than a decade. The existence of such cavities implies vigorous mixing of materials between Europa's frigid surface and the sloshing ocean hiding beneath a tantalizing prospect for scientists considering whether life could evolve on the jovian moon.

“It would be great if these lakes harbored life. But even if they didn't, they say that Europa is doing something interesting and active right now,” says planetary scientist and study coauthor Britney Schmidt of University of Texas at Austin.

Schmidt and her colleagues uncovered the lakes while considering how chaotic regions on Europa, such as Conamara Chaos, might form. The team compared archival images of these tangled terrains with similar landforms on Earth: fractured, collapsing Antarctic ice shelves and icy caps perched atop subglacial Icelandic volcanoes. Interacting water and ice craft these terrestrial jumbles, and similar processes can explain observations on Europa.

Did You Know? Who invented submarine?

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) made sketches of a submarine and William Bourne, a British mathematician, drew plans for a submarine in 1578. But it was only in 1620 that Cornelius van Drebbel, a Dutch inventor, managed to build a submarine. He wrapped a wooden rowboat tightly in waterproofed leather and had air tubes with floats to the surface to provide oxygen. Of course, there were no engines yet, so the oars went through the hull at leather gaskets. He took the first trip with 12 oarsmen in the Thames River staying submerged for 3 hours.

Missing link New 'smart' material

Scientists are reporting development and successful initial testing of the first practical "smart" material that may supply the missing link in efforts to use in medicine a form of light that can penetrate four inches into the human body. Their report on the new polymer or plastic-like material, which has potential for use in diagnosing diseases and engineer new human tissues in the lab, appears in ACS' journal Macromolecules.

Adah Almutairi and colleagues explain that near-infrared (NIR) light (which is just beyond what human can see) penetrates through the skin and almost four inches into the body, with great potential for diagnosing and treating diseases. Low-power NIR does not damage body tissues as it passes. Missing, however, are materials that respond effectively to low-power NIR. Plastics that disintegrate when hit with NIR, for instance, could be filled with anti-cancer medicine, injected into tumors, and release the medicine when hit with NIR. Current NIR-responsive smart materials require high-power NIR light, which could damage cells and tissues. That's why Almutairi's team began research on development of a new smart polymer that responds to low-power NIR light.

Hit with low-power NIR, their new material breaks apart into small pieces that seem to be nontoxic to surrounding tissue. The researchers envision, for instance, putting the polymer in an implantable "hydrogel," which is a water-containing flexible material used for tissue engineering and drug delivery. A hydrogel with the new polymer could release medications or imaging agents when hit with NIR. "To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of a polymeric material capable of disassembly into small molecules in response to harmless levels of irradiation," say the researchers.

The authors acknowledge funding from the NIH Director's New Innovator Award and King Abdul Aziz City of Science and Technology.

Bigfoot Again Yeti 'nests' found?

Bigfoot researcher and biologist John Bindernagel claims his research group has found evidence that the Yeti (a Russian "cousin" of the American Bigfoot) not only exists, but builds nests and shelters by twisting tree branches together.

"We didn't feel like the trees we saw in Siberia had been done by a man or another mammal.... Twisted trees like this have also been observed in North America and they could fit with the theory that Bigfoot makes nests. The nests we have looked at are built around trees twisted together into an arch shape," Bindernagel told the British tabloid The Sun.

Bindernagel was part of a small group of scientists who visited western Siberia to examine evidence of the Yeti in October. That group made headlines around the world for issuing a statement that they had "indisputable proof" of the Yeti and were 95 percent sure it existed based on the evidence a few strands of hair they found.

Tree twisting, also called splintering, has been claimed as Bigfoot evidence for decades throughout the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere. In some cases tool markings have been found on trees said to have been twisted by Bigfoot. This suggests that the creatures are even possibly more intelligent than previously suspected and may be able to somehow locate and use pliers, monkey wrenches, and other common hardware tools. [10 Mythical Beasts That Might Exist]

Unless the marks were made by human hoaxers.

Although many of the "mysteriously" twisted tree limbs are conveniently near ground level, some are found at the top of trees. Bigfoot researchers claim these are stronger evidence of the Yeti's existence, because whereas any hoaxer could easily twist small, waist-level branches, only a Bigfoot-like animal would be able to climb up that high.

However, that raises the not-insignificant question of how a huge, heavy animal would get to the top of a tree without breaking it, or at least snapping a few branches on the way up. Bigfoot are often said to be between 8-and-12-feet tall and weigh several hundred pounds; surely if such a tall, heavy animal made its way up a tree most of the trees that have been found twisted are spindly in nature there would be much more obvious damage than a few woven branches at the very top.

'Magister Dixit' Translating Aristotle

Of the writings endorsed to Aristotle (384-322 BC), the polished essays and dialogues which he intended for publication have been almost completely lost, with the exception of a few fragments. The great body of Aristotle's thought that has come down to us is in the form of "treatise" on various subjects, such as logic, physics, ethics, psychology, biology, and politics. It seems that these treatise began as notes on (or summaries of) Aristotle's lectures at the Lyceum in Athens. He continued to edit and revise them throughout his life, as his views evolved, but never brought them to a state of completion for publication. Subsequently they were edited and organized into "books" by his students, and then the whole corpus was transmitted through a series of transcribers, translators, and commentators.

The story of how Aristotle came to be considered the prime authority on matters of reason is interesting. His writings certainly didn't have such a commanding status in his own time, nor at any later time in the ancient world. Even following the collapse of ancient civilization in around 500 AD, the only work of Aristotle known in the west was a Latin translation (by Boethius) of his treatise on logic. Not until the twelfth century did scholars in Western Europe begin to gain access to the full range of Aristotle's treatise, and even then they did not acquire the actual Greek texts. Aristotle's teachings had survived in various scholarly communities in the east, such as among the Syrians, and these works were acquired by the Arabs when they conquered Syria around 650 AD. Eventually the works of Aristotle, along with the commentaries of Arab scholars, spread throughout the Islamic world. Beginning with the re-conquest of Toledo in 1085 and Sicily in 1091, western scholars began to encounter these works and translate them into Latin. The structure of the Arab language is quite different from Greek and Latin (which are fairly similar to each other), so there was unavoidable paraphrasing in the passage from the original Greek to Arabic, and then again in the translation from Arabic to Latin. In effect, the first exposure to the full extent of Aristotle's writings came in the form of Latin paraphrases of Arab paraphrases of (and commentaries on) Syriac paraphrases of second-hand copies of the original Greek texts. Not surprisingly, the resulting Latin renderings were somewhat unreliable.

In 1204 the great Byzantine capital of Constantinople was captured by western armies during the 4th crusade, and western scholars gained access to Greek texts that were much closer to Aristotle's original writings. Around 1265, the Flemish Dominican William of Moerbeke (1215-1286) and other scholars translated these Greek texts into Latin and Thomas Aquinas undertook to integrate and reconcile the Aristotelian principles of reason and rational thought with Christian theology, resulting in his monumental Summa teologica. The view of Aristotle as the indisputable epitome of reason dates from this time, and held sway for about 250 years, until being superseded by the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution, each of which was, in some measure, a reaction against Aristotelian thought. As a result, today we often find Aristotle cited, especially in the sciences, as an example of erroneous thinking.

Nevertheless, the works of Aristotle are, if nothing else, a very interesting record of the attempts of one (obviously very intelligent) man to understand and systematize a wide range of knowledge on the basis of primitive principles and perceptions. For example, Books V and VI of Aristotle's Physics presents an interesting argument that space, time, and motion must all be continuous rather than discrete The argument relies on a number of definitions, most crucially on the definition of the word "between". This also gives a good illustration of the challenges that a scholar faces when trying to determine, first, exactly what Aristotle wrote, and second, exactly what he meant. Two of the most widely-available English translations of Aristotle's Physics are the Loeb Classic Library version by Wicksteed and Cornford (W&C), and another translation by Hardie and Gaye (H&G).

Earth's extreme extinction

It's well known that Earth's most severe mass extinction occurred about 250 million years ago. What's not well known is the specific time when the extinctions occurred. A team of researchers from North America and China have published a paper in Science which explicitly provides the date and rate of extinction.

"This is the first paper to provide rates of such massive extinction," says Dr. Charles Henderson, professor in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Calgary and co-author of the paper: Calibrating the end-Permian mass extinction. "Our information narrows down the possibilities of what triggered the massive extinction and any potential kill mechanism must coincide with this time."

About 95 percent of marine life and 70 percent of terrestrial life became extinct during what is known as the end-Permian, a time when continents were all one land mass called Pangea. The environment ranged from desert to lush forest. Four-limbed vertebrates were becoming diverse and among them were primitive amphibians, reptiles and a group that would, one day, include mammals.

Through the analysis of various types of dating techniques on well-preserved sedimentary sections from South China to Tibet, researchers determined that the mass extinction peaked about 252.28 million years ago and lasted less than 200,000 years, with most of the extinction lasting about 20,000 years.

"These dates are important as it will allow us to understand the physical and biological changes that took place," says Henderson. "We do not discuss modern climate change, but obviously global warming is a biodiversity concern today. The geologic record tells us that 'change' happens all the time, and from this great extinction life did recover."

There is ongoing debate over whether the death of both marine and terrestrial life coincided, as well as over kill mechanisms, which may include rapid global warming, hypercapnia (a condition where there is too much CO2 in the blood stream), continental aridity and massive wildfires. The conclusion of this study says extinctions of most marine and terrestrial life took place at the same time. And the trigger, as suggested by these researchers and others, was the massive release of CO2 from volcanic flows known as the Siberian traps, now found in northern Russia.

Henderson's conodont research was integrated with other data to establish the study's findings. Conodonts are extinct, soft-bodied eel-like creatures with numerous tiny teeth that provide critical information on hydrocarbon deposits to global extinctions.

Mirror world Story of antimatter

One of the mystifying aspects of the Universe is Antimatter. It is understood that matter is made of electrons, protons and neutrons whereas antimatter is identical to matter, except that it is composed of antielectrons, antiprotons and antineutrons.

When antimatter comes into contact with normal matter, they collide to produce an explosion emitting pure radiation. And this results in a complete annihilation of matter into energy. Every particle in the Universe has the common characteristics of mass and charge. However, with antimatter, the mass of the particle remains constant, while its electric charge is opposite. A normal matter such as a hydrogen atom contains 1 electron and 1 proton. The anti-particle, the anti-hydrogen atom, will have 1 positron (the antiparticle of an electron, which has the same mass as an electron but opposite electric charge) and 1 antiproton. This is why, after collision, the entire mass of both particles transforms into pure energy, a phenomenon that scientists believe, may usher an era of travelling at the speed of light. Similarly, the antiparticle of proton is antiproton which has the same mass as a proton, but with opposite charge, while the antiparticle of the neutron is an antineutron.

The modern quest of antimatter began back in 1928 by physicist Paul Dirac. It is now well known hat, for every atomic and subatomic particle, there is an antiparticle. How did antimatter come into being? Just like everything else, right after the Big Bang. Scientists believe that, immediately after creation of the universe, there were almost the same amount of antimatter as there was matter. But the cosmic process compelled them to annihilate each other out and eventually ushering today's matter-dominated Universe. At CERN's Large Hadron Collider, many believe that there are antiparticles still out there in the Universe. Scientists think that antimatters are created whenever high-energy particle collisions take place in the universe. Studies have found that when cosmic rays impact Earth's atmosphere, small quantities of antiparticles are produced in particle jets and these antiparticles are destroyed as soon as they come in contact with nearby matter. It is also believed that antimatter may still exist in large amounts in distant galaxies because of the inflation associated with the early expansion of the universe.

On a Roll Tiniest car on test

Scientists have created the tiniest electric car ever although it won't be coming to your local dealership anytime soon. With four molecular wheels and a carbon-based frame, the mini-roadster is a step toward devices that mimic the machinery of molecular life.

The researchers started with little motorized “wheels,” molecules inspired by the motors that some bacteria use to propel themselves, and attached them to a frame. A carbon double bond serves as an axle between two wheels; when the entire unit is zapped with electricity, the double bond becomes a single bond. This contorts the axle, rotating the wheels and propelling the car forward, researchers report in the Nov. 10 Nature. In test drives on a copper surface the car went as far as 20 nanometers, says organic chemist Ben Feringa about 10 car lengths.

Designing a contraption that will do your bidding in the nanoworld is not so easy, says Feringa, of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. With regular-sized cars, forces such as gravity dictate interactions with the road. But a vehicle that's nanometers long about the width of a DNA molecule must contend with different forces.

“The interactions with the surface are very important,” Feringa says. “The key is to not make it stick to the surface, because it will never move, but also it cannot fly away.”

Another difficulty of working at the nanoscale is when molecules are close together they interact, and not necessarily in the way that you want, says Paul Weiss, director of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA.

“The biggest thing here is these four motors operating together,” says Weiss, who wrote a commentary accompanying the Naturearticle. “It's really terrific work.”

Nature is adept at making such minimachines. There are proteins that transport cargo inside cells, others that help muscles move and pumps that provide energy. Building similar molecules that cooperate and carry out tasks could lead to all sorts of machines and uses, Weiss says.

There are still kinks to iron out before these little cars can be mass-produced efficiently. The molecular machines are made in a solution that's then poured on the copper surface, and only cars that land right-side-up are drivable. But such production issues should be relatively easy to overcome, says Weiss.

“We're really learning the forces and the lay of the land at the nanoscale,” he says.

The researchers would like to see whether they can propel the machines with light rather than electricity, says Feringa, and also plan to add cargo to see whether the vehicles can carry a load.

War trial starts to roll, finally

The prosecution has begun reading out the allegations against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee who is being tried by International Crimes Tribunal on charges of committing crimes against humanity during Bangladesh liberation war in 1971.

Chief Prosecutor Ghulam Arieff Tipoo and senior prosecutor Syed Rezaur Rahman yesterday read out 61 pages of the 88-page statement before the three-judge tribunal adjourned the proceedings. The hearing will resume this morning when the prosecution will complete its opening statement.

Sayedee is the first to stand trial from among the seven Jamaat and BNP leaders facing charges of crimes against humanity such as genocide, murder, rape, arson and torture during the war.

Six of the suspects are in jail, including Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami and BNP leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury. Another BNP leader Abdul Aleem is out on bail for his illness.

Sayedee, Nayeb-e-Ameer of Jamaat, was charged with 20 counts of crimes by the tribunal on October 3. The charges include genocide, killing, rape, arson, abduction and torture of civilians during the war.

Sayedee, who has denied the charges, was present in the court during yesterday's proceedings.

Jamaat-e-Islami collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces which killed 30 lakh people and raped 2 lakh women during the nine-month war.

The prosecution told the tribunal that Sayedee committed the crimes in collaboration with Pakistani soldiers at different parts of his home district of Pirojpur.

The offences allegedly committed by the accused are covered by the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act, the prosecutors said.

In another development the tribunal, headed by its Chairman Justice Nizamul Huq, directed the prosecution to produce witnesses against Sayedee on December 7.

The tribunal will give its ruling on November 23 on Sayedee's petition.

In his November 16 petition Sayedee said Justice Huq was involved in a People's Enquiry Commission, which investigated alleged war crimes against Sayedee and several others a few years ago. The Jamaat leader sought explanation if Justice Huq can legally preside over the tribunal and try him.

Abdur Razzaq, chief counsel for Sayedee, BNP leader Moudud Ahmed and Supreme Court Bar Association President Khandaker Mahbub Hossain placed statements before the tribunal, urging Justice Nizamul Huq to quit the tribunal for the sake of justice and image of judiciary.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam rejected the defendant's claim and told the court that Sayedee has no right to question the judge as he himself is an accused in this case.

Sayedee's petition is tantamount to contempt of court, he said.

Facebook warns of wave of spam

A recent wave of spam flooding Facebook users' pages with graphic pictures depicting sex and violence has mostly been stopped, but the social networking site said Wednesday that people need to remain vigilant to keep their accounts from being hijacked.

Facebook in Germany said the latest attack tricked users into pasting and executing malicious JavaScript in their browser URL bar, exploiting a browser vulnerability that caused them to unknowingly share the content, according to a statement to news agency dapd.

"Our team responded quickly and we have eliminated most of the spam caused by this attack," the statement said. "We are now working to improve our systems to better defend against similar attacks in the future."

According to Facebook, no user data or accounts were compromised during the attack.

Govt to go for belt-tightening

The government may increase prices of power and fuel once again, stop financing low priority projects and adopt drastic measures, including staff cuts, to ease the pressure on budget.

It may also increase various fees, including charges for land registration, to meet the shortfall of non-tax revenue collection target.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday said subsidy and balance of payment (BoP) now are the biggest challenges. So the government is mulling over phasing out subsidy on power. However, the measures to be adopted cannot be spelled out at the moment.

A meeting of the Fiscal Coordination Committee with the finance minister in the chair yesterday discussed the measures, which will be finalised in consultation with the prime minister, said finance ministry officials.

The government has been considering the measures as the economy came under pressure of different variables like inflation, exchange rate and excessive borrowing from banks.

The finance division at yesterday's meeting placed the statistics of subsidy of the current budget where the total allocation on subsidy is Tk 20,477 crore against various ministries' demands of Tk 46,000 crore.

The finance ministry has pointed out that of the asked amount, subsidy to the tune of Tk 35,000 crore may be given which is still around Tk 15,000 crore more than the budgetary allocation.

A finance ministry official said the reduction of subsidy may result in power and fuel price hike soon again.

In a meeting with the prime minister in September, the finance division proposed increasing fertiliser prices by at least Tk 5 per kg. However, no decision was taken about this.

Yesterday's meeting also decided that the planning ministry will very soon identify the less important projects and stop financing those. It also asked the finance division to furnish a directive on limiting expenditures on meetings, seminars and entertainment in both development and non-development sectors.

Moreover, in recent times, various ministries have been making large-scale recruitment of class-III and -IV employees which created pressure on revenue expenditure.

A finance ministry source said the meeting discussed the economic situation of the USA and different countries in Europe and the Middle East. It observed that the economy of Bangladesh may take a plunge due to the crisis there.

The finance division said the government's income and expenditure trend shows that the budget deficit may cross 6 per cent of the GDP against the target of 5 per cent. Yesterday's meeting decided to keep the deficit limited to 5 per cent of the GDP. Otherwise, not only the budget will come under pressure but the IMF mission may also raise questions.

The meeting was of the view that the NBR tax may achieve the target but the non-NBR revenue may fall. To avoid the fall, different fees and charges may need to be upped, the finance division proposed.

Besides, the meeting also directed the Economic Relations Division (ERD) to take necessary steps to expedite foreign aided projects.

The coordination council will meet again in December or January and then review the implementation of the issues discussed in this meeting.

Meanwhile, referring to a roundtable earlier organised by The Daily Star, Muhith said they [the roundtable participants] pointed out 30 risks, of which, 26 are from my budget speech while they came up with four. Besides, it appeared to him that economists and the media are trying to pull down the country's economy.

Under the Rainbow Generating awareness through dance

Goethe-Institut opened the third edition of “Under the Rainbow” festival in Dhanmondi, Dhaka on Thursday. As a colorful highlight and closing of the first day's programme, Srishti Cultural Centre presented a contemporary dance performance in front of crowded rows.

The festival ends today and is being held in cooperation with Srishti Cultural Centre, Bandhu Social Welfare Society, Boys of Bangladesh and Swaprovo. It wants to generate awareness against the collective denial of the existence of a homosexual community in Bangladesh.

Thursday's programme consisted of the inauguration of the exhibitions -- “New Family Portraits” by photographer Verena Jaekel and “The other Side of the Wall” by Shah Mohammad Sazzad Hossain. An open discussion by photographer Dr. Shahidul Alam and a short film screening followed.

The dance show of Anisul Islam Hero, the founder director of Srishti Cultural Centre, and his dance troupe consisted of eight exciting pieces that spoke an understandable language without using words. Nevertheless, a narrator gave some background information to each of the performances.

A prelude was given with the piece “Aguner Poroshmoni”, which was invoking the cleansing power of fire. Nine male and female dancers appeared in the bluish light, wrapped in wide white garments. They gracefully bowed to the ground and stretched towards the sky, pirouetted, danced light-footed over the small stage and finally wrapped themselves in a red cloth. The accompanying lyrics were by Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Life as an amalgamation of emotions and various stages of our lives were articulated by the dancers in the performance “Colours of Life”. “Birth, happiness, sorrow, love, separation and the ultimate demise of existence -- each has its purpose and time,” the narrator explained.

In the piece “Colour”, the dancers were wrapped in sari-like costumes, and the stage resembled a paint box. Blue danced with yellow and green, pink joined red and white's flirt, orange appeared with red and yellow, until in the end, the stage became one moving rainbow.

Especially expressive were “Envy” and “Growing Dhaka”. “Envy” depicted desire as a basic instinct of man in a fusion dance. “Growing Dhaka” expressed the difficulties of a little tree growing in an overcrowded mega city.

Srishti Cultural Centre has been an important partner of the Goethe-Institut for 17 years since it was formed in Dhaka in 1994. Anisul Islam Hero founded the dance troupe to promote traditional classical dance, Bangladeshi folk dance as well as modern contemporary dance that reflect the cultural heritage of Bangladesh. The aim is to increase the popularity of these forms of dances both in Bangladesh and abroad. Srishti also has a strong commitment to humanity and society, and its performances are guided by this intention in mind. The dancers have performed several times for the World and International AIDS Conferences to raise awareness in HIV/AIDS.

A fusion of eastern and western forms, called “Time”, wrapped up Thursday's dance performance.

Forces at work within us

A new method for visualizing mechanical forces on the surface of a cell, reported in Nature Methods, provides the first detailed view of those forces, as they occur in real-time.

"Now we're able to measure something that's never been measured before: The force that one molecule applies to another molecule across the entire surface of a living cell, and as this cell moves and goes about its normal processes," says Khalid Salaita, assistant professor of biomolecular chemistry at Emory University. "And we can visualize these forces in a time-lapsed movie."

Salaita developed the florescent-sensor technique with chemistry graduate students Daniel Stabley and Carol Jurchenko, and undergraduate senior Stephen Marshall.

"Cells are constantly tugging and pushing on their surroundings, and they can even communicate with one another using mechanics," Salaita says. "One way that cells use forces is evident from the characteristic architecture of tissue, like a lung or a heart. If we want to really understand cells and how they work, we have to understand cell mechanics at a molecular level. The first step is to measure the tension applied to specific receptors on the cell surface."

The researchers demonstrated their technique on the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), one of the most studied cellular signaling pathways. They mapped the mechanical strain exerted by EGFR during the early stages of endocytosis, when the protein receptor of a cell takes in a ligand, or binding molecule. The results showed that the cell does not passively absorb the ligand, but physically pulls it inside during the process. Their experiments provide the first direct evidence that force is exerted during endocytosis.

Mapping such forces may help to diagnose and treat diseases related to cellular mechanics. Cancer cells, for instance, move differently from normal cells, and it is unclear whether that difference is a cause or an effect of the disease.

"It's known that if EGFR is over-active, that can lead to cancer," Salaita says. "And one of the ways that EGFR is activated is by binding its ligand and taking it in. So if we can understand how tugging on EGFR force changes the pathway, and whether it plays a role in cancer, it might be possible to design drugs that target this pulling process."

Several methods have been developed in recent years to try to study the mechanics of cellular forces, but they have major limitations.

10 years of iPod

1: The original iPod is displayed after its introduction by Apple Inc. on October 23, 2001.

2: Apple former CEO Steve Jobs gestures as he introduces the new iPod during Apple's launch of their new online "Music Store" in San Francisco on April 28, 2003.

3: A Model displays the latest new iPod with video capabilities at a launch ceremony on November 3, 2005 in Seoul.

4: Bono, left, of the band U2, and Steve Jobs, right, hold up Apple iPods at an unveiling of a new branded iPod on October 2, 2004.

5: The new iPod nano, which is thinner than a No. 2 pencil is seen during an Apple press event on September 7, 2005.

6: Steve Jobs speaks on stage with images of the iPod Shuffle (L) and iPod Nano projected on screen at Apple's music-themed September media event in San Francisco, California September 1, 2010.

7: A customer tries out the new Apple iPod Touch at an Apple store in Palo Alto, Calif. on September 17, 2007.

Symantec rolls out Norton 2012

Symantec Corporation, a world leading security and anti-virus company, has released its Norton Internet Security and Norton Antivirus 2012 through Computer Source Ltd (CSL) in Bangladesh at an event in the capital.

Muhammad Effendy Ibrahim, director, Asia, Consumer Business, Symantec Corporation and Md. Asif Mahmud, director, Computer Source explained the features of the Norton 2012.

The new edition of the Norton has been designed with new features to address the latest threats and powerful protection. Norton also brings a powerful combination of reputation, file, behavior and network based protection to provide the most comprehensive security to date.

“As the world leader in security, Norton will continue striving to ensure that our customers are safe wherever they go, whatever digital experience they choose to have,” said Effendy.

The price for Norton Internet Security 2012 is Tk 3,500 for 1 year of protection for up to five PCs and Tk 1,100 for one PC while Norton Anti-Virus 2012 is available at Tk 700 for one year for 1 PC and at Tk 2,200 for 3 PCs.

Dhaka to host Asia's premier ICT event

With the invention of internet and the widespread availability of low cost information and communication technology (ICT) tools like cell phones, low cost computers, for the first time creates an equitable opportunity for Asia's large population. Some of the nations have already taken the path and have elevated their national growth to a higher level. The usage of ICT allows those nations to address issues like accessibility, capacity building and transparency in governance.

This year, Dhaka is hosting Asia's prestigious ICT event e-Asia 2011. eAsia 2011, with this year's slogan 'Realising Digital Nation' is the Asian Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) event with a conference part and an exhibition. The main objectives of these sessions are reinforcing technology and enhancing knowledge-centric growth. Additionally, this year an award category has also been introduced to recognise the e-initiatives of the world.

This event commemorates the 40th birth anniversary of Bangladesh and celebrates the progress of Digital Bangladesh agenda of the government.

Digital Bangladesh vision proposes mainstream ICTs as a pro-poor tool to eradicate poverty, establish good governance, ensure social equity through quality education, healthcare and law enforcement for all, and prepare the citizens for climate change.

This is the first time in the history of Bangladesh that the goal of poverty reduction and human development has been taken by utilising ICTs. This idea was strongly backed by influential political powers of the country from the very top and enthusiastic support from common citizens at the bottom.

e-Asia is a premier Asian event that has been held in the Asian countries since 2006. The first e-Asia was organised in Bangkok, Thailand in 2006, and subsequently it was arranged in the following years in Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2007 and 2008. The conferences focused on the themes like, e-Gov, telecentre, digital learning, eHealth, m-serve etc. e-Asia 2009 with its slogan “Opportunities for Digital Asia” was organised in Colombo, Sri Lanka with the themes e-gov, digital learning, e-health, Telecentre Forum and emerging e-technologies.

The event provided the participants the opportunity to gain deeper understanding of technology advances in ICT. The past e-Asia events received sponsorship and supports from several international companies like Samsung, Intel, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Everonn, EMC, SAP, and many more.

The 5th annual eAsia 2011 conference and exhibition will take place in Dhaka on December 1-3, 2011. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the event while President Zillur Rahman is expected to be present at the closing ceremony.

The event is organised by Bangladesh Computer Council, ICT Division, Ministry of Science and ICT along with Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS), India. It is co-organised by Access to Information (A2I) Programme at Prime Minister's Office.

Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation (ASOCIO), Bangladesh Association of Call Centre & Outsourcing (BACCO), Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) and Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) as well as Bangladesh IT Journalist forum are also helping to organise the event.

Google Inc has turned on the music at its new online store, aiming to wrest the lead from Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc in audio entertainment distribution despite the absence of a major record label.

Google Music, with more 13 million songs, will be integrated with Android Market, the company's online store for smartphone apps and videos as it plays catch-up with its rivals. Apple, Amazon and Facebook have to varying degrees integrated music into their core online and mobile products.

Google Music will allow the Web search leader to do the same by letting consumers access music from various Internet-connected devices and easily share tracks with friends.

But analysts said the lack of soundtracks from Warner Music - a major label whose artists include Led Zeppelin and Prince, among others - will limit the appeal of Google Music.

"They've got to get that catalog filled pretty quickly," said Mike McGuire, an analyst at industry research firm Gartner. "It's a launch, but it's kind of like a work-in-progress."

Google Music was unveiled at a splashy event at the Mr. Brainwash Studios in Hollywood, California on Wednesday.

Google has negotiated U.S. deals with three of the four major music companies: Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group; Sony Corp's Sony Music Entertainment; and EMI. It has also signed deals with the increasingly influential independent label group Merlin and London-based Beggar's Banquet label group, home to the year's biggest selling artist, Adele.

Tab Review: HCL Me X1 tab

http://www.themobileindian.com/reviews/233_Tab-Review:-HCL-Me-X1-tab

HCL , a known brand in the PC space in India, has come out with its second Android tablet some days back. The tablet was priced competitively at Rs 10,490 and joins a long list of budget tabs that have appeared in India.

We used the tablet extensively for about three weeks. Here's what we thought.

Nokia tablet coming in June 2012

http://www.themobileindian.com/news/3857_Nokia-tablet-coming-in-June-2012

Nokia, which some months ago joined hands with Microsoft, will launch a tablet in June next year and it will be based on none other than Windows 8 operating system.

"In June 2012, we will have a tablet running Windows 8," said Paul Amsellem, new head of Nokia France while in conversation with Les Echos . Notably, images of the purported Nokia tablet were found on the US patent websites earlier this year.

Nokia had recently announced its first Windows Phone based smartphones — Lumia 710, Lumia 800.

Paul Amsellem also mentioned updates about Nokia's plans for the Windows Phone smartphone platform as well and we can soon expect Nokia to launch powerful, smarter smartphones under the Nokia Lumia product range."We will soon have a full range with a Series 7 and Series 3," said Paul Amsellem. Although not much information about the hardware specification of the new device were revealed but the device expected to feature a new 1.4 Ghz processor with 1 GB of RAM along with the regular fanfare from Nokia.

Going by the recent trend, Indian Nokia fans can also expect the device at around the same time as the rest of the world.

RIM announces BlackBerry Curve 9380, Bold 9790

http://www.themobileindian.com/news/3855_RIM-announces-BlackBerry-Curve-9380-Bold-9790

Canadian handset maker Research In Motion has announced its two new devices — BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380. Both the devices will come armed with the new BlackBerry OS 7.

"The BlackBerry Bold 9790 is the latest addition to the Bold series taking its place alongside the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones running the new BlackBerry 7 OS," the company said in its official blog.

The Bold 9790 has a 2.44 inch display that will support 480x360 pixel resolution in 4:3 aspect ratio. In terms of physical design, it appears to be the cross-bred product of Bold 9700 and the BlackBerry Torch 9850.

Despite having a 2.44 inch, the Bold 9790 will feature a touchscreen interface which makes it similar to the Nokia E6 that has 2.46 inch touchscreen and also the BlackBerry Bold 9780 with 2.44 inch display. Obviously, the Bold 9790 will come with BlackBerry 7 OS and will also support Near Field Communication.

Under the hood, this smartphone sports a powerful 1 GHz processor, a whopping 8 GB of memory and a 5 MP auto-focus camera. It will also come with the Near Field Communication (NFC) which will allow users to read smart tags on signs and posters, and connect with other NFC enabled devices — all with a simple tap.

Recently RIM had announced a price hike in select BlackBerry 7 OS running smartphones due to the Rupee-Dollar fluctuations taking place.

Aircel to open prebooking for iPhone 4S on Nov 18

http://www.themobileindian.com/news/3871_Aircel-to-open-prebooking-for-iPhone-4S-on-Nov-18

The iPhone 4S comes with a totally overhauled specification with the latest A5 processor and support for both CMDA and GSM networks, so now CDMA users will also be able to enjoy the benefits of iPhone over their existing service.

Handset Review : AirTyme GTX75 Torrid

http://www.themobileindian.com/reviews/203_Handset-Review-:-AirTyme-GTX75-Torrid

The AirTyme GTX75 Torrid mobile handset comes in slider form factor with Qwerty keypad for easy typing for the users. The phone comes with a display size of 2.8 inches and TFT resistive touchscreen. The AirTyme GTX75 Torrid sports a 1.3 megapixel camera with display resolution of 1280X1024 pixels and digital zoom as well. Users may already be aware the digital zoom facility pixelates the pictures, and the same happens with the images taken on this handset also.

The Java operating system based phone also comes with popular apps like Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, MSN, Twitter, Snaptu, Nimbuzz and Gtalk. Those who love to share their music around would easily be able to do so with the Bluetooth, and enjoy it themselves with the music player and video player as well as FM Radio and 3.5 mm universal audio jack. It also comes with USB PC Sync for easier data transfer between computer and the phone.

The keypads in the phone are well spaced and convenient for typing, which is a rarity for such phones where the keys usually look good but are difficult to type on. The build quality of the Airtyme Torrid looks good, as it looks sturdy and able to withstand some rough handling as well. On the negative side, the phone is bulky, as most of the phones these days are slicker than this one and then there is no FM radio or WiFi either. It has a 1200 mAh battery which looks good on paper, but even when the phone was not used, the battery seemed to go down quicker than expected.

The Airtyme Torrid supports Java apps and comes armed with Bluetooth connentivity as well. The phone responds well to touch, as the touchscreen is more responsive than expected for the price and its slider is smooth. The USB port is a propriety one so procuring the charger may not be that easy if you lose the original charger. Last but not the least is the voice dialing feature which responds well to the voice commands and seemed to be accurate.

App Review: Drag Racing

http://www.themobileindian.com/reviews/211_App-Review:-Drag-Racing

Out of all gaming genres, Indians love arcade style racing on their mobile phones. Whether it is sophisticated F1 race or a street race, every such game gets equal love.

The new Drag Racing Free is an amazing and addictive racing game that offers more than 50 real cars. However, it's not just about different realistic looking cars but it is also about upgrades and several opponents that challenge your skills in every race. Every millisecond is crucial in the race and this game will make you realise that.

Drag Racing Free offers four self-explanatory menu options - Race, Garage , Settings and Stats. The Race starts off with Level 1 and offers three basic modes - Race offline, Race Online and Pro League. Out of these three basic game modes, if player chooses Race Offline then the opponent can be chosen to be a Beginner, Amateur, Pro or Boss (super expert). For every race won, there is a fixed amount of cash awarded. On beating the Boss in the offline race mode, one gets 10 Respect points as well.

Game Review: Pool Master Pro

http://www.themobileindian.com/reviews/219_Game-Review:-Pool-Master-Pro

When it comes to real life, there are few things more exciting and challenging than a game of pool, but in our busy lives it is becoming increasingly difficult to take time out and play pool with friends. So what is the alternative? Well, it's in your pocket, in the form of the free Android game Pool Master Pro.

Pool Master Pro features both 8 and 9 ball based games in different challenging environments and player modes. Users can choose to play against the auto intelligence or computer based player or can also play with another person on the same device.

Handset Review: Karbonn K1616

http://www.themobileindian.com/reviews/221_Handset-Review:-Karbonn-K1616

The way this phone looks you can confuse it for a smartphone - a 3.5 inch capacitive touch screen, just one physical button, even the unlock gesture looks exactly like Android. But does this also perform like one? Let's find out.

App Review: FizWoz

f you are a photography enthusiast, who also wants to earn some cash selling the clicked pictures, this app is a near perfect one. The reason why I am calling it a near perfect is because though it has a section for contest participation, there was no contest listed when I visited the section.

Similarly, it comes with an Assignment section where there was only one assignment that too from the US, and I presume that there is lack of awareness about the app in the media world (typically journalists would buy these images and videos) and therefore not much action is listed here and might be that not much buyer will also come.
However, it is worth trying. Moreover, as more and more people start trying the service, it will be compelling for image buyers to go looking for it on Fizwoz. The app works on all the major platforms including Android, iOS, Symbian, and Blackberry.http://www.themobileindian.com/reviews/189_App-Review:-FizWoz

Game Review: Alien Invasion

We have always been fascinated by aliens and extra-terrestrial creatures that how will they look and what will they do whenever we come across them. Well there have been numerous games, videos and even movies made on alien creatures and all of them always show these poor little things rain havoc on our cities. So much that whenever now aliens are being talked of, people always say that they will come and kill us and take over our plants, movies like 'Paul - The Alien' and 'ET' are exceptions though.

undefinedWell the game we are talking here about is yet another game where the aliens are in the bad role and the human guy is killing them to save earth. As mentioned, you will play as Rowdy (Fictional Name) - the cowboy who has no other job but to kill the aliens who otherwise will kill Rowdy. The towns and cities have already been swept clean by these aliens and as you progress you will find aliens harder and harder to kill. But there is hope as Papa Jones (again fictional) still owns a weapon shop which is open for business, supplying Rowdy with the necessary ammo to kill the intergalactic critters.

App Review: WP Clock light

Live wallpapers provide a nice alternate to the usual mobile phone's screensaver. However, live wallpapers are not customizable. Also, stock live wallpapers in the Android put tremendous strain on the device's processor while consuming a lot of battery power.

There are a couple of alternative wallpapers available on the Android Market as well but when it comes to offering utility along with functionality, WP Clock light is definitely one of the best choices you can make.

WP Clock light, as the name suggests, is a free application which acts as a live wallpaper for Android devices. A unique thing about this wallpaper is the amount of information it displays on screen while keeping the style quotient in mind.

undefinedThe wallpaper is a representation of a clock along with the full calendar showing the day and the year. All this is displayed on the screen in a lighter shade of grey or while set with about 30 per cent transparency in order not to hide the background. The display also included a digital battery meter and WiFi connectivity status indicator.

App Review: Pixlr-o-matic

The Pixlr-o-matic Android app is an extremely useful image editing tool. The app makers suggest that with Pixlr-o-matic, one can give about 25,000 different finishes to an image, so those who are heavily into photography may like the app.

Pixlr-o-matic comes with an easy to use user interface. Besides, there is option to share the pictures on social network as well.

In total, there are 25 different filters in the app, 30 lighting effect options and 31 frames. But that doesn't mean the app comes with no negatives — there are no editing tools including tilt, shift, crop and rotate.

To start, the users just need to either take a new picture or select an old one from their image gallery. The pictures get loaded into the dashboard where users can add the desired effects to the image. The effect gets converted into the image after a moment but the finished result is visible very clearly.

Besides this app, there are couple of photo editing tools available on the Android as well like the Lightbox and Streamzoo.

App Review: Go Launcher EX

Go Launcher EX is an app for home screen replacement, which replaces the native launcher of the Android phone including the original Froyo, Gingerbread Android launchers, HTC's Sense and Motoblur. The app is available free of cost and is meant to provide lots of customisation options and themes for the home screen of the Android smartphones. Users also have the option to download GoWidgets, including Message GOWidget, Contacts GOWidget and Calendar GOWidget.The only problem with the Go Launcher EX is the widgets themselves are not themeable. So even if the users have their favourite theme installed, chances are the colour scheme of the widgets (such as clocks or calendar on the home screen) may not work with it since they look exactly the same. At the same time, the look of icons can be changed as per the users' need. There are some phones which have some limit on the number of home screens they can have, but the installation of Go Launcher EX removes that limitation.

There also comes a dock on-the-screen feature which can be scrolled by the users to access the shortcuts of up to 15 apps. There are other aspects of the app which can be customised as well including the status bar, hiding icon labels, increasing the grid size etc.

The app Go Launcher EX gives the users the feeling of being in control of their Android experience — a big reason why such apps are popular among the Android smartphone users.

The app allows the users to back up their configurations which make them feel free to tinker with the home screen, and if they don't like it, they can always go back to the earlier backed up home screen. In the beginning, the app started with a small collection of themes which has grown big now and there is a virtual flood in the market with numerous themes, of course of different qualities and many cost you some bucks as well.