Google launches Internet-enabled Bus in Tamil Nadu

Google India has launched Internet Bus, an internet-enabled bus that will reach out to people with limited knowledge and exposure to internet and give them a first-hand experience of what internet has to offer and how it may be beneficial to their lives. To begin with, the bus will cover 15 towns in Tamil Nadu over a period of one and a half months.

According to Google, the Internet Bus will have content in English and Tamil to give the users an understanding of how internet can be used for information, communication, entertainment and education. In addition to basic familiarization on using services like search, email, social networking and online maps the bus will showcase how internet can make everyday life simple.

The Internet Bus will also address the challenge around access and language for users in smaller cities by educating them on how they can access internet on their mobiles and use various Google tools to break the language barrier.

“With this initiative we want to take the power of the internet medium to people who will really benefit from it. We believe that if we can get people to experience the internet even briefly they will find the means to go back again,” said Prasad Ram, Head of R&D at Google India, has said.

“India needs more of such efforts. It is the collective responsibility of the government, the industry and academia to solve the challenges around access, costs and content. Once this is done, the possibilities of use are limitless,” Prasad Ram has added.

Its Vasant Panchami

As 'Diwali' – the festival of light – is to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and prosperity, and 'Navaratri' is to Durga, goddess of power and valor, Vasant Panchami is to Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and arts. This festival is celebrated every year on the 5th day or ‘Panchami’ of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Magha, which falls during January-February, (see calendar). ‘Vasant’ comes from the word ‘spring’ as this festival heralds the beginning of the spring season.
Birthday of Goddess Saraswati:
It is believed that on this day goddess Saraswati was born. Hindus celebrate Vasant Panchami with great fervor in temples, homes and even schools and colleges. Saraswati’s favorite color yellow assumes special significance on this day. Statues of the goddess are dressed in yellow clothes and are worshiped by devotees adorning yellow garments. Saraswati is offered yellow colored sweets which are given away as ‘prasad’ to all people attending the ritual worship. There is also a custom of ancestor worship, known as ‘Pitri-Tarpan’ in many parts of India during Vasant Panchami.
The Foundation of Education:
The most significant aspect of Vasant Panchami is that it is also the most auspicious day to begin laying one’s foundations of education – of how to read and write. Pre-school children are given their first lesson in reading and writing on this day. All Hindu educational institutions conduct special prayer for Saraswati on this day. It is also a great day to inaugurate training institutes and new schools – a trend made famous by the renowned Indian educationist Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (1861-1946), who founded the Banaras Hindu University on Vasant Panchami day in 1916.
A Springtime Celebration:
During Vasant Panchami, the advent of spring is felt in the air as the season undergoes change. New leaves and blossoms appear in the trees with the promise of new life and hope. Vasant Panchami also announces the arrival of another big springtime event in the Hindu calendar - Holi, the festival of colors.
Saraswati Vandana: Sanskrit Mantra:
The following prayer is recited on this day:

Yaa Kundendu tushaara haaradhavalaa, Yaa shubhravastraavritha|
Yaa veenavara dandamanditakara, Yaa shwetha padmaasana||
Yaa brahmaachyutha shankara prabhritibhir Devaisadaa Vanditha|
Saa Maam Paatu Saraswatee Bhagavatee Nihshesha jaadyaapahaa||

English Translation:

"May Goddess Saraswati,
who is fair like the jasmine-colored moon,
and whose pure white garland is like frosty dew drops;
who is adorned in radiant white attire,
on whose beautiful arm rests the veena,
and whose throne is a white lotus;
who is surrounded and respected by the Gods, protect me.
May you fully remove my lethargy, sluggishness, and ignorance."

How do I get an OpenID?

How do I get an OpenID?

Surprise! You may already have one. If you use any of the following services, you already have your own OpenID:

AOL

openid.aol.com/screenname

Blogger

blogname.blogspot.com

Flickr

www.flickr.com/photos/username

LiveDoor

profile.livedoor.com/username

LiveJournal

username.livejournal.com

Orange (France Telecom)

http://openid.orange.fr/

SmugMug

username.smugmug.com

Technorati

technorati.com/people/technorati/username

Vox

member.vox.com

Yahoo

http://openid.yahoo.com

WordPress.com

username.wordpress.com

Well Known & Simple Providers

If you don’t have an OpenID yet, here are a few which are generally recommended by various members of the community. In the end you should choose a Provider from a company which you trust. We realize this list isn’t perfect and plan to evolve it into a more useful tool. If you’re curious about the technology behind various providers, you can look at a guide comparing provider feature sets.

• 
  ClaimID
  claimID is the free, easy way to manage your online identity with OpenID.
• 
  myOpenID
  Secure, free, hosted OpenID server by JanRain.
• 
  VeriSign’s Personal Identity Provider
  Free OpenID Provider with support for multi-factor authentication.

• 
  myID.net
  Free OpenID Provider with support for groups and Korean language.
• 
  myVidoop
  Free OpenID Provider that eliminates passwords with security features, customization, and browser integration.

All Providers

For a list of more OpenID Providers, check the list on the wiki. We don’t make any guarantees about the providers listed, though most are quite good.

Roll Your Own

Of course, you can always use your own URI, blog URL, website, etc as your OpenID. Delegation is the simplest way to get up and running with OpenID and Sam Ruby wrote a great tutorial. Delegation requires nothing more than an OpenID Provider and some basic HTML. If you’re wanting to host your own OpenID Provider, you’ll also need some coding experience. phpMyID is a simple open source PHP script that lets you fully host your own Provider. If you’re wanting to do something more complex, check out our page on OpenID for Developers.

What is OpenID?

OpenID eliminates the need for multiple usernames across different websites, simplifying your online experience.

You get to choose the OpenID Provider that best meets your needs and most importantly that you trust. At the same time, your OpenID can stay with you, no matter which Provider you move to. And best of all, the OpenID technology is not proprietary and is completely free.

For businesses, this means a lower cost of password and account management, while drawing new web traffic. OpenID lowers user frustration by letting users have control of their login.

For geeks, OpenID is an open, decentralized, free framework for user-centric digital identity. OpenID takes advantage of already existing internet technology (URI, HTTP, SSL, Diffie-Hellman) and realizes that people are already creating identities for themselves whether it be at their blog, photostream, profile page, etc. With OpenID you can easily transform one of these existing URIs into an account which can be used at sites which support OpenID logins.

OpenID is still in the adoption phase and is becoming more and more popular, as large organizations like AOL, Microsoft, Sun, Novell, etc. begin to accept and provide OpenIDs. Today it is estimated that there are over 160-million OpenID enabled URIs with nearly ten-thousand sites supporting OpenID logins.

Who Owns or Controls OpenID?

OpenID has arisen from the open source community to solve the problems that could not be easily solved by other existing technologies. OpenID is a lightweight method of identifying individuals that uses the same technology framework that is used to identify websites. As such, OpenID is not owned by anyone, nor should it be. Today, anyone can choose to be an OpenID user or an OpenID Provider for free without having to register or be approved by any organization.

The OpenID Foundation was formed to assist the open source model by providing a legal entity to be the steward for the community by providing needed infrastructure and generally helping to promote and support expanded adoption of OpenID.

As Brad Fitzpatrick (the father of OpenID) said, “Nobody should own this. Nobody’s planning on making any money from this. The goal is to release every part of this under the most liberal licenses possible, so there’s no money or licensing or registering required to play. It benefits the community as a whole if something like this exists, and we’re all a part of the community.”

This statement continues to resonate today within the OpenID community.

Grand Finale | Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009

Here is the thing about SRGMP that is so entertaining. It throws up stuff from left field when you least expect it. But allow me to explain.

The finale of SRGMP - all eight hours of it, or so it seemed - was scheduled to climax with Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone, stars of the mega hit CC2C. At least that is how the thinking must have been way back when the stars were booked. Unfortunately, Chandni Chowk went belly up faster than the Titanic and the producers didn't make any adjustments to the show's script.

The first indication of this came when Deepika walked out on stage, looking long and angular in a white saree and had to jhelo questions from Head about her movie. This must have been painful. But Deepika negotiated this moment with grace, calling the audience reaction "mixed" but thanking those that had supported the flick.

Later Akshay showed up. Undeterred by the Deepika awkwardness, Head went hammer and tongs at Akshay with praise of his "hit". A montage of positive audience reaction was displayed.

Akshay looked distinctly depressed and launched into a monologue of how when you are down people throw stones at you, but you should pick them and use them to fortify your own foundation. "I'm telling this to the contestants who are waiting for the results inside" said Akshay. Beshak, my man. Beshak.

More was to follow. Calling Head 'Aditya sahab', Akshay said that by referring to his movie as a hit, Head had shown his badhappan. At this point Head began to grasp the delicacy of the situation - which he indicated by sticking his tongue out. Years of seasoning then prompted Head to ask Akshay to announce the results and move the show along. "The results are already in" wailed Akshay. "I've failed!"

Although I could feel Akshay's pain - and I continue to wish him the best - I couldn't help but chuckle. A lot. I was absolutely transfixed at this drama (when it comes to SRGMP, I entertain easily).

Besides this if there was one moment that really stood out, it was at the very beginning - a moment that veritably defines SRGMP. The grand finale was stage with the recently ravaged Taj as its backdrop. Clearly people had worked hard to deliver a gorgeous stage. The entire setting was beautiful. And it was very touching. Wow, I thought to myself: has SRGMP gone all classy on us?

Then the show started and the three finalists - Soumen Nandi, Vaishali Made and Yashita Sharma - strutted on stage to sing. Fwoosh - a gigantic gush of air blew Vaishali's kameez straight up, threatening to expose the poor girl's midriff. Vaishali cocked her waist and grabbed the flying thing, holding it down while trying to look cool and sing. This little wardrobe malfunction restored my faith in the show instantly.

Although I'm not particularly interested in who wins the competition - I should mention that the steady stream of regional revelation of votes (International votes! North Zone votes! East Zone votes!) had me thinking Yashita might well beat the odds here.

But the West Zone votes came in and Vaishali ended up winning the entire thing. Happily, the remaining two contestants didn't sulk glumly. Yashita joyfully bounced around the stage declaring how khush she was. Well done!

Finally, a word about Head who might well have hosted his last SRGMP episode as a regular host. I loved that all black outfit - clearly a tribute to Batman. Head looked styling throughout the show although his pants were too long (I'm just saying). And when he got dropped on stage via a flaming crane, the pride in dad Udit Narayan's eyes was very cute to behold. Head has gotten better each year. Don't go by that montage they showed of him as tribute - you know the one in which he inexplicably tried to imitate drag queens. Repeatedly. Head was terrific this year. I'll miss him.

Welcome Obama | The Obamas' First Dance!

After a day in which ceremony and historical significance took precedence, President Barack Obama is now confronted with the realities of office.

With the eyes of the world upon him, the 47-year-old former senator was sworn in on Tuesday as the first black president of the United States.

Aides have suggested that he will now waste no time in getting on with the job, with a raft of policy announcements expected by the end of the week.

During his inaugural speech in Washington, Mr Obama alluded to the task before him. In an address which impressed rather than wowed, given its speaker's known oratory skills, the president vowed to address the challenges that faced America, a country in "the midst of crisis", he said.

Laying out the problems, Mr Obama said the country had a "badly weakened" economy and was at war against "a far-reaching network of violence and hatred". He said: "The challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met."

He spoke in front of a Washington audience, estimated to be more than a million people. Many, many more were listening around the world to the new president's words.

After all the ceremony of the inauguration the president and his wife had to twirl their way through 10 official dances. They are traditionally held to give as many people as possible the chance to rub shoulders with the new leader.

The Obamas were the star attraction at the first dance, the Neighbourhood Ball, which is held for people who live in the Washington area.

With the president dressed in a white tie tuxedo and his wife in a shimmering white floor-length gown, the couple took to the stage for the first dance with Beyonce singing the Etta James' classic At Last in the background.

The crowd cheered as the president pulled his wife close and they danced a slow two-step, and once more after Mr Obama spun the first lady playfully around. At their second ball, the president pulled his wife much closer, at one point, wrapping both arms around her waist

कल हो ना हो ....

आज एक बार फ़िर सुरज को उगता देखो
और चान्द को चान्दनी रात मे जागता देखो
क्या पता कल ये धरती
चान्द और सुरज हो ना हो

आज एक बार सबसे मुस्करा के बात करो
बिताये हुये पलों को साथ साथ याद करो
क्या पता कल चेहरे को मुस्कुराना
और दिमाग को पुराने पल याद हो ना हो

आज एक बार फ़िर पुरानी बातो मे खो जाओ
आज एक बार फ़िर पुरानी यादो मे डूब जाओ
क्या पता कल ये बाते
और ये यादें हो ना हो

आज एक बार मन्दिर हो आओ
पुजा कर के प्रसाद भी चढाओ
क्या पता कल के कलयुग मे
भगवान पर लोगों की श्रद्धा हो ना हो

बारीश मे आज खुब भीगो
झुम झुम के बचपन की तरह नाचो
क्या पता बीते हुये बचपन की तरह
कल ये बारीश भी हो ना हो

आज हर काम खूब दिल लगा कर करो
उसे तय समय से पहले पुरा करो
क्या पता आज की तरह
कल बाजुओं मे ताकत हो ना हो

आज एक बार चैन की नीन्द सो जाओ
आज कोई अच्छा सा सपना भी देखो
क्या पता कल जिन्दगी मे चैन
और आखों मे कोई सपना हो ना हो

क्या पता
कल हो ना हो ....

Keep Smiling Always Because You never Know who is falling in LOVE with Your Smile

Keep Smiling Always Because You never Know who is falling in LOVE with Your Smile

15th Annual Star Screen Awards | No Khan in Race | Hrithik, Priyanka and Jodhaa Akbar win big at Star Screen Awards

Full List of Winners

Best Film
Jodhaa Akbar

Best Director
Ashutosh Gowarikar - Jodhaa Akbar

Best Actor (Male)
Hrithik Roshan - Jodhaa Akbar

Best Actor (Female)
Priyanka Chopra – Fashion

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)
Arjun Rampal - Rock On

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female)
Shahana Goswami - Rock On

Best Actor in a Negative Role (Male/Female)
Akshaye Khanna – Race

Best Actor in a Comic Role (Male/Female)
Tusshar Kapoor - Golmaal Returns

Best Music
A. R. Rahman - Jodhaa Akbar

Best Playback Singer (Male)
KK - Khuda Jaane (Bachna Ae Haseeno)

Best Playback Singer (Female)
Shilpa Rao - Khuda Jaane (Bachna Ae Haseeno)

Best Lyrics
Anvita Dutt Guptan - Khuda Jaane (Bachna Ae Haseeno)

Most Promising Newcomer (Male)
Farhan Akhtar - Rock On

Most Promising Newcomer (Female)
Asin Thottumkal – Ghajini

Best Story
Neeraj Pandey - A Wednesday!

Best Screenplay
Shiraz Ahmed – Race

Best Popular Actor Award
Akshay Kumar - Singh Is Kinng

Lifetime Achievement Award
Sanjay Khan

Hrithik Roshan was crowned Best Actor at the Nokia 15th Annual Star Screen Awards with Priyanka Chopra winning Best Actress.

Hrithik’s gong came for his portrayal of the Emperor Akbar in the epic saga Jodhaa Akbar while Piggy-Chops bagged hers for the hard hitting flick Fashion.

The night, which saw numerous awards besotted upon Jodhaa Akbar, was marred by controversy as Nokia Popular Viewers’ Choice Award winner Akshay Kumar (for Singh Is Kinng) refused to collect his trophy insisting that fellow actor Aamir Khan should have got it for Ghajini.

Have you seen Official Wedding Photo

You like her dress????

She doesn't look too fug. And he doesn't look as hot as he used to.

They're even!

Taylor Swift Still On Top, Gets A Makeover!

Taylor Swift has the #1 album in America yet again!

For her SIXTH (nonconsecutive) week, the country cutie holds the top spot on the Billboard 200! Her album is now the first to spend six weeks at the top since the 2005 release of The Massacre by 50 Cent.

As for Lady Gaga, she had a small drop in album sales for The Fame but she moved up in the rankings from number 26 to 14.

And Katy Perry's One of the Boys went down in album sales but moved up from the 23rd spot to the number 15 spot on the chart.

The chart is adjusting to the post-Christmas sales decrease!

As for Swift, she's enjoying her time at the top.

The talented cutie is guest starring on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Swift is playing Haley Jones, a dark teen whose family runs some little motel in Vegas. She was spotted on set (above) rocking the dark hair and alternative look.

Now is your moment, Taylor, enjoy it!

Hello, Madonna Can Make Horses Fly ever!

To have horses and riding instructors flown out to you at your whim!

Her Madgesty reportedly flying to Florida for the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, and she's having British eventer Daisy Trayford flown out from England to coach her.

The relationship started when Madonna bought two horses from Daisy, and Daisy's been helping her out with them on and off since then.

Six months ago, Madonna had one of the horses shipped to the States, with the other horse following shortly thereafter.

Daisy describes Madonna as a "dream pupil" because if Daisy had said anything else, Madonna would have given her a right hook with one of those crazy Popeye arms of hers.

Daisy added, "She's very driven, listens to what you say and just wants to do it and improve. You can always get somewhere with someone like that. When I started teaching her she hadn't jumped at all and now she can jump a course of 1.05m. Jumping and hacking are her two favourite things."