Aakash tablet's delivery pushed to 2012

DataWind, the Canadian company that is manufacturing Aakash, will start distribution of the much anticipated low cost Android tablet from next month for which online booking had started on December 15.

A spokesperson of Datawind said to The Mobile Indian, "People who have booked the Aakash tablet online will get its delivery in January.” The spokesperson, however, didn't cite any reason for the delay. Earlier the company had said that the Rs 2,500 Aakash tablet will be delivered within seven days of online booking.

Flip Flops

On earlier occasions also, Datawind have failed to honour their commitment as the tablet was supposed to be made available in retail stores by the end of November. Now it is expected to hit the stores only in February.

DataWind initially said that the Aakash tablet will be available to students only through colleges and schools. However, later it started online booking of Aakash for everyone including students. Besides,DataWind have given only 10,000 Aakash tablets to the government for distribution in schools and colleges of the initial 1 lakh proposed.

The Mobile Indian got more than 200 emails and 300 calls from users who complained that after booking the tablet online they didn't get any call or confirmatory email.

Even after The Mobile Indian's repeated request for clarification on the hardship faced by the consumers, Datwind didn't share any information instead it said: "An official statement will soon be released and we will keep you posted.”

We hope this time Akash Tablet is delivered to consumers on time.

About Aakash and UbiSlate

There are two versions of the tablet. The original Aakash tablet comes with much lower specifications and is priced at Rs 2,500. Its cousin — named as UbiSlate, is comparatively powerful and is priced at Rs 2,999.

UbiSlate will be powered by Android 2.3 and will have a resistive touchscreen, Cortex A8-700 MHz processor and graphics accelerator HD video processor, 256 MB of RAM and 2 GB of internal memory. Other specifications are - one standard USB port, 3.5 mm audio jack, a 7 inch display with 800 x 480 pixel resolution, resistive touchscreen, GPRS and WiFi support.

On the other hand, the 7 inch screen bearing Aakash tablet has Android 2.2 operating system, Arm11 — 366 Mhz processor, 2100 battery, WiFi and will have support for 3G modem. The price difference between the Aakash and UbiSlate is because the commercially available product will include a cellular modem, allowing it to deliver web access anywhere there is a cellular connectivity, and also to function as a mobile phone. Notably, Internet access on both the tablets across mobile networks will be priced at Rs 99 for 2GB.

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M.Stanley to invest $100-$125 mln in Mumbai: $125 mn housing project in Mumbai

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The global real estate fund of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - NewsMS.N) is in talks with Mumbai-based Sheth Developers to invest $100 million to $125 million in a residential project in Mumbai, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The Morgan Stanley fund will invest in the unlisted Indian firm's project in the western suburbs of Mumbai, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Morgan Stanley declined to comment and Sheth Developers did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Sheth Developers acquired an 18-acre land parcel in Andheri from Borosil Glass Works in 2010 for about 8.75 billion rupees and plans to develop a large residential project there, said the sources.

If completed, the investment would be the first in India by the Morgan Stanley fund in three years, two of the sources said. The fund has invested about $750 million so far in India.

In October, sources told Reuters that a bunch of investors including a fund managed by Morgan Stanley and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (:GIC.ULGIC.UL) are in separate talks to buy a Mumbai property from Indian textiles firm Alok Industries (:ALOK.NSALOK.NS) for about $200 million.

Last month, the Wall Street bank named Shirish Godbole as the head of its global real estate investment fund in India.

Indian developers have come under pressure over the past year as rising interest rates deter residential buyers and funding for builders becomes scarce as economic growth slows.

Private equity investment in Indian real estate was marginally down in the first nine months of 2011 to about $784 million, from $817 million at the same time last year, according to data from industry tracker VCCircle.com.

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Steve Jobs to be honoured with Grammy award

Los Angeles, Dec 22 (IANS) Apple co-founder Steve Jobs will be posthumously honoured with a Grammy award for his contribution to music technology, The Recording Academy announced Wednesday.

Jobs, who died Oct 5 of pancreatic cancer, will receive a Trustees Award for helping create products 'that transformed the way we consume music, TV, movies and books', Xinhua quoted the academy as saying in a statement.

Apple Computer Inc. first received a Technical Grammy Award in 2002 for contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field, the academy said.

Along with Jobs, bandleader and composer Dave Bartholomew, recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder will also receive the award.

The academy also picked the Allman Brothers, Glen Campbell, Diana Ross and Brazilian pianist/singer/guitarist Antonio Carlos Jobim as recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards. Jobim was known for composing 'The Girl from Ipanema', a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s which won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965.

Other artists, including trumpeter Wayne Jackson, saxophonist Andrew Love of the Memphis Horns, country legend George Jones, and the late Gil Scott-Heron were also named as recipients.

German sound-technology firm Celemony and the late audio engineer Roger Nichols, who worked with artists including Ross, Placido Domingo, James Taylor and Stevie Wonder, were recognized with Grammy Technical Awards.

'This year's honorees offer a variety of brilliance, contributions and lasting impressions on our culture,' said President/CEO of The Recording Academy Neil Portnow.

'It is an honor to recognize such a diverse group of individuals whose talents and achievements have had an indelible impact on our industry.'

The honorees will be formally acknowledged during the 54th Annual Grammy Awards telecast at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles Feb 12, 2012.

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Rockstar Movie Review

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Shammi Kapoor, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kumud Mishra, Piyush Mishra, Shernaz Patel, Moufid Aziz

Directed by Imtiaz Ali

Rating: *

This film says that depression, apart from making one horny, ignites the artist in one. But our lead, Janardhan Jakhar/JJ (Ranbir Kapoor) was neither adopted, nor abused as a child to feel down enough to become like his idol, Jim Morrison. So, to pursue pain, JJ flirts with college hottie and serial heart-breaker, Heer Kaul (Nargis Fakhri). He hopes to be dumped, shattered and consequently become a musical genius. But following several awkward proposals, JJ and Heer actually bond over doing wild things, which they trigger off by saying, ‘gandh machaate hain!’

While Heer is scheduled for a Kashmir marriage that would jet her off to Prague, JJ crashes her wedding but avoids clichéd Bollywood tactics of charming her parents or making a swift getaway as they’re not in love. The wedding leads to Heer’s departure, closely followed by logic departing from this feeble rock-u-drama like a ball smashed from Sachin Tendulkar’s bat. 

JJ is clobbered and thrown out of his house for attending Heer’s wedding (a crime because?) and a reason even sillier than that. Broken and hungry, JJ takes refuge at a ‘darga’ which also doubles as ‘school of Sufi music for the lesser privileged’. After two months, he also spends some time, making a living babbling bhajans (to be fair that all religions offer a chance to hone one’s musical bone?).

One montage leads to another and JJ becomes Jordan, a revolutionary solo artist, headed to Prague for a recording. Song and dance numbers to amuse the country’s tourism board follow as Jordan and Heer finally get intimate (just when we thought they’d hook up in the sequel). If Heer’s married state wasn’t rarifying enough, she also suffers from psychiatric issues and is finally diagnosed with a form of terminal bone marrow. Oh, yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Finally, an orgasm of sadness results in compositions like ‘Nadaan Parindey Ghar Aaja’, possibly dedicated to the script writers of ‘Rockstar’ who never returned to the sets.

Ranbir is committed in his disturbed desi rocker avatar and his abstention from any intoxicants makes him an idol who wouldn’t corrupt his worshipers. Nargis blends divine beauty with lips that jive like she’s in the movie, ‘Finding Nemo’.

Although the ‘Rockstar’ soundtrack is being crowned universally, Rahman’s work has become formatted. It’s like, be it a horror or an animated children’s film, Rahman will insert a minimalistic yet soulful Sufi number (*Kun Faaya Kun), one Masakali equivalent- (*Sheher Mein), one high-pitched Dil Se-esque number (*Nadaan Parindey) and a soft soothing love song (Tum Ho). Shamelessly ignoring the rock theme, only ‘Saadda Haq’ comes close to the head banging genre. Also note thatMohit Chauhan is a trained professional and do not try singing ‘Oh, yeah! Yeah! Yeah!’ at home or outdoors, unless you want to risk being certified as an imbecile.

The film’s crisp post-production and beautiful cinematography makes the screen light up to dreamy sights and the enumerable chopper shots allow a great vantage point to take in the stunning landscapes of this eastern European country.

Watching ‘Rockstar’ once is like watching it many times over, thanks to the repeated montages that sporadically recap the film. If you thought being stabbed once was bad, here’s what a knife set can do.

The film drives home an unscientific hypothesis that people who’ve endured sufferings/ heart break/ loose motions etc will reach their creative best. By this logic, each person in the audience will be blessed with superhuman creativity as they step out after watching ‘Rockstar’. Oh, yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

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The Dirty Picture review

Cast: Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi, Tusshar

Directed by Milan Luthria

Rating: ***

Many will argue that this film is filthy, lewd, sleazy and every other word that conveys the same. But since it's based on a character who embodies all these adjectives, it only ends up being a deliciously dirty tribute.

Based on the south Indian dancing diva and actress, Silk Smita's lustful life, 'The Dirty Picture' paints a concupiscent portrait, complete with bouncing love handles, blouses that resemble the barricade at the Metallica concert in Delhi (visible but unable to contain) and dialogues that are as clever as they are cocky. But a film about an A-grade dancer of B-grade repute can't really boast of cultivated conversation, right?

The film takes us into the life of a small-town girl, Reshma (Vidya Balan) who speedily escapes to uptown Madras to live her celluloid dreams. After being turned down time and again, she manages to tease the camera lens and accidently lands a dancing role opposite Superstar Suryakant (Naseeruddin Shah) with her new name, Silk. But Suryakant is only comfortable working with those who make him comfortable in the dressing room and that Silk knows just how to.

Following several happy endings in the dressing room, Silk's career graph slides up like a python on amphetamine. As she grows in popularity, her fans grow, well, while watching her 'thumkas' on the big screen. All is well until Silk realizes the need for a real relationship. She voices her concern to Suryakant, "Raat ko barah ki sui ke tarah chipke rehte ho, aur din mein che ki tarah?" But the middle-aged superstar has his own philosophy, "Jawaani taste karne ke liye hoti hain, waste karne ke liye nahin." This doesn't add up but then do you really care?

The playful Silk is later seen playing mischievous kitty with Surya's refined brother, writer Ramakant (Tusshar) who is charmed by her mere presence. But Silk is boisterous about her sexuality and her misguided fame leads to roaring arrogance, followed by her decline. Somewhere between her descent and the end, Abraham (Emraan Hashmi) a director who has recently swung from arty to farty films, gives in to Silk's smooth arms and his bitter feelings for her become like delectable dark chocolate.

Clearly, Rajat Arora's winning dialogues will make you sit up and say, "She didn't just say that?!" I mean how often does a sex symbol get playful enough to say, "Holi khelne ka shauk hain, par teri pichkari mein dum nahin!" The only letdown here were the forced love angles especially that of Abraham whose hatred and love for Silk, both seemed misplaced.

Vidya is scrumptious as the imperfect and unrestrained Silk, while Naseer is convincing as a superstar out to play shepherd to every newcomer. Tusshar may have dropped his surname for the credits but that hardly undermines the fact that he's been cast in his home production, again. Emraan's character gives itself more importance than you or anyone else does. Luckily, his presence is limited and tolerable.

Reflecting on any period of Indian cinema will mean treading on unintentionally caricature. This is because the fundamentals of cinema and society evolve and the success mantra of the past will seem like a flop recipe today. A dialogue in the film provides one such stereotype, "Iss film mein kuch alag karo. Behen ko izzat do, aur phir usse utaaro." A pure piss-take on Indian cinema, circa 1980s.

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Ladies vs Ricky Bahl review

Cast: Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh, Parineeti Chopra, Dipannita Sharma, Aditi Sharma, Shireesh Sharma

Directed by Maneesh Sharma

Rating: * 1/2

Films about conmen rarely con the audience since we love watching people getting fleeced. There's just something special about someone who can massage egos and charm one and all to part with their wallets (or purses in this case). Also, who doesn't want to learn how to tweak human emotions for capital gains? Or how to pursue fancy vocations with much diligence and little credentials. Many personalities for the price of one single multiplex ticket: a Christmas bargain indeed!

The title clearly spells out the unimaginative plot. Our slicker-than-the-rest hero, Ricky Bahl (Ranveer Singh) dons many avatars to enchant and deceive women from diverse worlds. And as difficult as it is to digest, these cheated women from different cities not only find each other but also join forces to avenge their collective wounds. But how do they find him? How do these self-respecting women who've never wronged anyone suddenly break bad? Look beyond these trivial logical concerns and this can actually be a fun ride.

The lady plotters include a sharp and aggressive business manager called Raina Parulekar (Dipannita Sharma), a demure and impeccant widow from Lucknow, Saira Rashid (Aditi Sharma) and a bubbly buffoon of a teenager from Delhi, Dimple Chaddha (Parineeti Chopra). The trio hires 'saleswoman of the year', Ishika Desai (Anushka Sharma) to pose as an NRI millionaire heiress, Ishika Patel. The plan is to get Ricky (known by many names through the movie) to buy into Ishika's business plan and invest in it. Now, conning a conman isn't child's play but doing so in a Yash Raj movie needs meticulous scripting and may be some well-choreographed dance numbers. So our catty conspirers weave a plan so clever that it could only flop if Ricky or the lady imposter fall in love. And to our miserable fate, that happens.

A big thumbs-up surely goes to the lead pair. Anushka is radiant and enigmatic and beneath the façade of a stunning scammer, she reveals streaks of a simple girl who has obvious wishes and dreams like any other. Ranveer's knavish avatar is an odd mix of suave, sexy and awkwardly simple. Among the rest, Parineeti's cheeky one-liners evoke chuckles and her character is equally adorable and dimwitted. Salim-Salaiman drum-up dance numbers which may do the rounds at a few New Year parties but will surely be forgotten post that. YRF is known for its glossy production values and this one lives up to their reputation.

So in the contest between Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl, it is the audience who loses out as it concludes as a sappy story, with the lead couple drifting out of character blinded by love (Sheesh!). Luckily, what leads up to the end is a journey packed with mild laughs, milder scheming and cunning that is almost there. If asked, 'Con banega crorepati', the answer surely wouldn't be the producers of this film.

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Ways to Get Back Accidentaly Deleted Files

It only takes a moment of carelessness to permanently delete important data from your PC. But don't worry, you may still be able to recover most of it, if you stop using your-PC immediately and use data recovery software. When a file is deleted, even from inside the Recycle Bin, it doesn't actually vanish from the hard drive.

Instead, the computer merely changes the file's properties to make it invisible to the user. The file truly gets deleted only when the operating system overwrites fresh data to that space. You can try to recover thedeleted files using free software.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery

This is a versatile software. It can not only recover the deleted files, but also help you save data from damaged partitions, pen drives, SD cards and CDs. MiniTool puts the retrieved files in folders, but you will have to go through several folders, Lost Files and Desktop, for example, before you find the actual files you were looking for. Once you have found the files, just click "save files" to get your data back. www.powerdatarecovery.com

Recuva

This lacks the advanced features of Mini-Tool , but one advantage of using Recuva is that you can see a preview before saving the retrieved files. This is handy because the computer often changes the names of deleted files to something like $ABC.MP3. www.piriform.com/recuva

Glary Undelete

In our tests, this was the slowest of the three. But one good feature is its ability to home in on the full name of the deleted files. This makes finding the right files a lot easier.www.glarysoft.com/products/ utilities/glary-undelete/

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