IPL auction to be held in Bangalore this weekend

Short listThe IPL reduced its auction list for the next season from a preliminary 416 to 350 players.

New Attraction
Pune and Kochi -- the two new entrants to the IPL, bring in more attraction. There will be 70 league matches and four play-off games in the fourth edition of the IPL. 

Hot propertyAll eyes will be on former West Indies captain Brian Lara, who is making a comeback to cricket. Also England's Ashes hero James Anderson will be a sought-after personality at the auction. They are among 21 cricketers with the highest reserve price of $400,000 for a three-year contract.

Stars missingA few top cricketers have opted out of the IPL's fourth edition, including former India captain Anil Kumble,  Aussies Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson (above) will not participate too. 

Upper limitThe upper spending limit for a franchisee is $9 million and those franchises who have retained players, will have less money at their disposal.

Retained playersChennai Super Kings have retained captain MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and South African all-rounder Albie Morkel
Mumbai Indians went for batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga and Kieron Pollard. 

Windows May Get an ARM Twist

Microsoft may give its mobile aspirations a shot in the arm with a new version of Windows designed to run on ARM processors. The new OS might be Windows 8 and not a stripped-down version of Windows 7 or a beefed-up version of Windows Phone 7.
        Microsoft may unveil a version of its Windows operating system that runs on the ARM (Nasdaq: ARMHY) chip platform at the Consumer Electronics Show to be held in Las Vegas in Jan.

The software will be tailored for battery-powered devices such as tablet computers and other handhelds.

ARM chips consume less power than those from Intel  or AMD , and they are used extensively in mobile devices.


Why Wrestle With ARM?

Offering a version of Windows for the ARM processor will give Microsoft more heft in the tablet and very light PC markets.
"Windows Phone 7 is too light, and Microsoft recognizes that this new platform will need to be for the next PC and also address stronger threats from Apple's  iOS andGoogle's  Chrome OS," Enderle explained.
"So, it's a rethinking of Microsoft's PC platform and not an extension of its smartphone platform"

Apple Making An iPad mini?

An iPad mini has been spotted in the wild! Does it look like Apple has finally given in to the 17.8-cm (7-inch) tablet space

Apple might become even more competitive in the tablet space. Apple's iPad, even when it offers a bigger screen size and loads of applications from the App Store, retails at a lower or equivalent price than most 17.8-cm tablets do -- Samsung Galaxy Tab is one of them.

This move could also be speculated to wipe off RIM completely from the tablet space. Blackberry maker RIM is slated to launch their own version of the tablet, the PlayBook, in the second quarter of 2011. iPad, which already has a huge lead over others in the tablet space could get a further boost with iPad mini and make others such as Motorola, LG and NEC (most of them on Android) scurrying for cover. 

GSLV space rocket explodes after lift-off

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A rocket carrying the GSAT-5P communications satellite exploded seconds after lift-off from a launchpad in the country's south on Saturday, officials said, in a potential setback for its commercial space business.

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) exploded in the first stage of the flight, leaving a trail of smoke and fire. The initial launch of the GSAT-5P satellite had been pushed back because of an engine defect.

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL….. :-)

Sometime in life we feel so blue,      

But someone somewhere is not happy as you,

Somewhere far at the border

Where a soldier sleeps missing his loved ones

He silently weeps.. L

Somewhere a mother painfully sighs,

Because a new-born baby dint open her eyes..

Somewhere a poor dad silently cries

When he sees his son begging for a bowl of rice…

Somewhere in an orphanage the little girl is sad

When she misses her mom and dad…

So, at times a reason to smile you may not have any ,

Say to yourselves that you are happier than many

Because life is beautiful

And it is not always blue…

And someone somewhere is not happy as you…

So, smile J hoping that your happiness will reach them too….. J

MERRY CHRISTMAS...:-)

Copyright allthingschristmas.com

An iPhone app that acts like a 'therapist' to soothe your soul

The 'pocket psychotherapist' application has been launched just in time to help ease the end-of-the-year burdens of the workplace, shopping and family gatherings.

'Awareness', the brainchild of holistic therapist Ronit Herzfeld and launched last week, allows the ever-stressed, particularly at holiday time, to find psychological solace, reports ABC News.

Herzfeld said her creation could help users discover inner peace in the routine of their daily lives.

Users with 3.99 dollars to spare are reminded by up to 25 gong tones a day to take a deep breath and assess their mental state. The application asks how you are feeling.

Based on the response, the application plays up to 20 videos with instructions on how to reduce stress. It also gives you about 400 inspirational quotes, such as 'God gave burdens, also shoulders'.

The application also color-codes your feelings and charts emotional states over a day, month, week and year.

The application has 10 moods and under each one there are sub-categories. Anger, can be frustration, hurt or betrayal. For each mood there are two videos.

The constant iPhone reminder to take a deep breath and redirect behavior can teach the user to change behavior, according to Herzfeld.

There are no advertisements on this application and all data is kept private, stored only on the iPhone. It works with or without a network connection.