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Monday, October 31, 2011

The Ten Worst Shah Rukh Khan Movies

Sonali Bendre and Shah Rukh Khan in English Babu Desi Mem
The biggest budget Indian movie of all time may be earning cash at the box office, but people don't seem impressed, right from you, dear readers, to critics.

Not that Ra.One is Khan's only disaster.
Here's my list of the 10 worst films Shah Rukh Khan's been in: 

10. English Babu Desi Mem

The first time Khan played more than one character in the same movie, he didn't stop at a double-role. Shah Rukh played twin sons and their father in this frequently cringeworthy film which also features Sunny Singh, that cute kid from Dekh Bhai Dekh, being as annoying as can be. 

Image: Sonali Bendre and Shah Rukh Khan in English Babu Desi Mem

9. Karan Arjun

 

Salman Khan, Rakhee and Shah Rukh Khan in Karan Arjun
Before the triple-role, however, he did technically play two parts in this unbelievably cheesy Rakesh Roshan reincarnation saga starring Shah Rukh alongside Salman Khan.

To their credit, both leading men commit to the hamming, but are quite outdone by Rakhee wailing "mere bete aayenge" seemingly drunkenly.

Image: Salman Khan, Rakhee and Shah Rukh Khan in Karan Arjun

8. Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India!

 

Deepa Sahi and Shah Rukh Khan in Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India!
Director Ketan Mehta tried to do a lot with this madcap satire featuring dialogues in verse and India being sold for one rupee. But despite the occasional moment or two of clarity, this is a muddled up and quite atrocious mess of a film.

Credit to Khan for doing this the same year he did Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge, his biggest mainstream success.

Image: Deepa Sahi and Shah Rukh Khan in Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India!

7. Ye Lamhe Judaai Ke

 

Shah Rukh Khan and Raveena Tandon in Ye Lamhe Judaai Ke
Made in 1994 and released in 2004, this is a film worth watching only for academic reasons, to see perhaps how well it ages.
The answer? Not well at all. Shah Rukh lacks the intensity we associate with even his weaker films in this boring mishmash of genres.

Image: Shah Rukh Khan and Raveena Tandon in Ye Lamhe Judaai Ke

6. Mohabbatein

 

Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan in Mohabbatein
All of India expected something truly special from Aditya Chopra in his follow-up feature after the hyper-successful DDLJ.
Despite casting Khan and Amitabh Bachchan together, this insipid feature proved to be nothing but an amazingly pointless vehicle for star kids who had no business being in the movies.

Image: Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan in Mohabbatein
 5.RA.ONE

Shah Rukh Khan in Ra.One
Ra.One, in which Shah Rukh Khan payed out nearly Rs 200 crore to make a film without an ounce of ingenuity, humour or smarts.

If you want to see Khan grab between Arjun Rampal's legs, however, this is the film for you.

Image: Shah Rukh Khan in Ra.One
6.Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna
 
Preity Zinta and Shah Rukh Khan in Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna

 One of Khan's most insufferable performances came in this Karan Johar film, a disastrous effort that can only be describes as a romcom about infidelity.

Khan, playing an irritable loser with a limp, took the character's affliction too literally and gave us a truly lame lead.


Image: Preity Zinta and Shah Rukh Khan in Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna
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Seventh billion baby born in village near Lucknow

LUCKNOW: India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh greeted the arrival of the worlds seven billionth baby on Monday morning. The symbolic seven billionth baby, is a girl child named Nargis born to Ajay and Veenita Yadav of Dhanaur village in Mall block falling on the outskirts of Lucknow, the capital of UP.
News agencies reported some other cities across the world also celebrating the birth of the seven billionth baby.

Nargis was chosen as the symbolic seven billionth baby by child rights NGO, Plan India.

Executive Director, Plan India, Bhagyashri Dengle said "we chose UP to mark the birth of the seven billionth baby as the state accounts not only for the highest number of births but also the highest number of 'missing girls'. By celebrating the birth of a girl as the seven billionth baby we are drawing attention to the serious issue of India's declining sex ratio"

With a population bigger than that of Brazil, UP has just 899 girls for every 1,000 boys. The situation is similar in other states such as Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and country's capital Delhi, according to Plan India.

The government run community health centre had been gearing up for the event for the last few days. Amidst much fanfare the parents of Nargis were handed over the birth certificate by the blocks health officer.

The child's father, Ajay Yadav said that they were happy at the birth of their daughter. He said that though he and his wife have only studied till class 10, they would ensure proper education for their daughter.

Apart fron Nargis, Plan India also identified six other girl children who were born in the area. All the seven girls will be sponsored by seven women ambassadors for a period of seven years, during which they will engage with the families of the children.
Marking the event, news agencies quoted the United Nations, Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon saying "some say our planet is too crowded. I say we are 7 billion strong. But we will only be able to use that strength for the benefit of all, if our societies are built on mutual respect and understanding"
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Anna may end 'maun vrat' soon

Ralegan Siddhi: Anna Hazare, who has been in 'silent mode' for the past fortnight since his team members got enmeshed in a series of controversies, may break his 'maun vrat' (vow of silence) in the next couple of days as he wants to hold "open discussions" with his supporters. The 74-year-old activist on Monday said he wants to start on a tour of different states after ending his fast and hopes to "gather energy" from his supporters to get the Jan Lokpal bill passed and then to fight for electoral reforms including 'Right to Reject' and 'Right to Recall'. "The thought of giving up on my 'maun vrat' is playing in my mind. In the next 3 to 4 days I might end my 'maun vrat'," Hazare said in his latest blog posting 'Straight from the Heart'. "Crores of people have turned to reading my blog all over the world hence I think it would only seem appropriate that I end my 'maun' and hold open discussions with them," he said. Hazare conveyed his intention to break his vow of silence a day after his key aides Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi met him in Ralegan Siddhi and decided to write a Constitution for its anti-corruption movement and revamp the Core Committee after that. Four days ago, Hazare had said in his blog that his health still does not permit him to give up his vow as verbal communication was leaving him very weak. Hazare said he will also embark on a tour to meet all those young men and women, farmers, working class people and school children who were a part of this movement against corruption and "at times even went to jail for the sake of the cause"

Read more at: http://www.news24online.com/Anna-may-end-maun-vrat-soon_News24_35860.aspx
Copyright © News24online.com
Ralegan Siddhi: Anna Hazare, who has been in 'silent mode' for the past fortnight since his team members got enmeshed in a series of controversies, may break his 'maun vrat' (vow of silence) in the next couple of days as he wants to hold "open discussions" with his supporters. The 74-year-old activist on Monday said he wants to start on a tour of different states after ending his fast and hopes to "gather energy" from his supporters to get the Jan Lokpal bill passed and then to fight for electoral reforms including 'Right to Reject' and 'Right to Recall'. "The thought of giving up on my 'maun vrat' is playing in my mind. In the next 3 to 4 days I might end my 'maun vrat'," Hazare said in his latest blog posting 'Straight from the Heart'. "Crores of people have turned to reading my blog all over the world hence I think it would only seem appropriate that I end my 'maun' and hold open discussions with them," he said. Hazare conveyed his intention to break his vow of silence a day after his key aides Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi met him in Ralegan Siddhi and decided to write a Constitution for its anti-corruption movement and revamp the Core Committee after that. Four days ago, Hazare had said in his blog that his health still does not permit him to give up his vow as verbal communication was leaving him very weak. Hazare said he will also embark on a tour to meet all those young men and women, farmers, working class people and school children who were a part of this movement against corruption and "at times even went to jail for the sake of the cause"

Read more at: http://www.news24online.com/Anna-may-end-maun-vrat-soon_News24_35860.aspx
Copyright © News24online.com
Ralegan Siddhi: Anna Hazare, who has been in 'silent mode' for the past fortnight since his team members got enmeshed in a series of controversies, may break his 'maun vrat' (vow of silence) in the next couple of days as he wants to hold "open discussions" with his supporters. The 74-year-old activist on Monday said he wants to start on a tour of different states after ending his fast and hopes to "gather energy" from his supporters to get the Jan Lokpal bill passed and then to fight for electoral reforms including 'Right to Reject' and 'Right to Recall'. "The thought of giving up on my 'maun vrat' is playing in my mind. In the next 3 to 4 days I might end my 'maun vrat'," Hazare said in his latest blog posting 'Straight from the Heart'. "Crores of people have turned to reading my blog all over the world hence I think it would only seem appropriate that I end my 'maun' and hold open discussions with them," he said. Hazare conveyed his intention to break his vow of silence a day after his key aides Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi met him in Ralegan Siddhi and decided to write a Constitution for its anti-corruption movement and revamp the Core Committee after that. Four days ago, Hazare had said in his blog that his health still does not permit him to give up his vow as verbal communication was leaving him very weak. Hazare said he will also embark on a tour to meet all those young men and women, farmers, working class people and school children who were a part of this movement against corruption and "at times even went to jail for the sake of the cause".

Read more at: http://www.news24online.com/Anna-may-end-maun-vrat-soon_News24_35860.aspx
Copyright © News24online.com
Ralegan Siddhi: Anna Hazare, who has been in 'silent mode' for the past fortnight since his team members got enmeshed in a series of controversies, may break his 'maun vrat' (vow of silence) in the next couple of days as he wants to hold "open discussions" with his supporters. The 74-year-old activist on Monday said he wants to start on a tour of different states after ending his fast and hopes to "gather energy" from his supporters to get the Jan Lokpal bill passed and then to fight for electoral reforms including 'Right to Reject' and 'Right to Recall'. "The thought of giving up on my 'maun vrat' is playing in my mind. In the next 3 to 4 days I might end my 'maun vrat'," Hazare said in his latest blog posting 'Straight from the Heart'. "Crores of people have turned to reading my blog all over the world hence I think it would only seem appropriate that I end my 'maun' and hold open discussions with them," he said. Hazare conveyed his intention to break his vow of silence a day after his key aides Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi met him in Ralegan Siddhi and decided to write a Constitution for its anti-corruption movement and revamp the Core Committee after that. Four days ago, Hazare had said in his blog that his health still does not permit him to give up his vow as verbal communication was leaving him very weak. Hazare said he will also embark on a tour to meet all those young men and women, farmers, working class people and school children who were a part of this movement against corruption and "at times even went to jail for the sake of the cause".

Read more at: http://www.news24online.com/Anna-may-end-maun-vrat-soon_News24_35860.aspx
Copyright © News24online.com
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Monday, October 24, 2011

2G case: Karunanidhi anxious, hopeful Kanimozhi will get bail

Kanimozhi
DMK chief M. Karunanidhi is hopeful that his daughter Kanimozhi, who has been behind bars since May in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam, will get bail on Monday, a party spokesperson said.
"We are hopeful that Kanimozhi will be out on bail today (Monday). Kanimozhi should have got bail earlier...there is lot of politics behind the scene," DMK spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan said.
"She has been in jail for over five months which is a punishment. She is only an accused in the case and denying bail to accused is wrong... all the accused have the right to get bail," he added.
The 88-year-old former Tamil Nadu chief minister and his wife Rajathi with grandson Adithya have been in Delhi since Friday.
"Kalaignar is very anxious, he is hopeful that his daughter will get bail. He will not come to the court. But Rajathi Ammal and Adithya will be present in the court," he said.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court last week charged Kanimozhi, an MP who has been in Tihar Jail, with criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust.
The court is hearing the bail applications of various accused in the 2G case, including that of Kanimozhi, Monday.
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TECHNOLOGY

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BUY A LENOVO Z570 LAPTOP AND GET 3 YEARS WARRANTY

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Friday, October 21, 2011

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Overdrive: 3 luxury cars that have eluded Indian shores
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HC cancels land acquisition of 3 Greater Noida villages

HC cancels land acquisition of 3 Greater Noida villages
In a major setback for the Uttar Pradesh government, the Allahabad High Court on Friday cancelled the land acquisition of three villages in Greater Noida.
The land acquisition of Abdullahpur, Devla and Saberi villages were cancelled by the court.
As per the order, the farmers who have already taken the compensation, can return the amount and claim back their land.
The farmers in the villages, where planning has already taken place, will get 64% additional compensation and 10% of developed land.
The High Court further said that an officer of the Principal Secretary level would be appointed to look into the functioning of Greater Noida authority.
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Thursday, October 20, 2011

India v England: Jonathan Trott and Samit Patel see tourists to defendable total in third one-day international

India v England: Jonathan Trott takes tourists to defendable total in third one-day internationalJonathan Trott hit 98 not out as England piled up 298-4 in a must-win one-day international against world champions India in Mohali on Thursday.
Samit Patel smashed an unbeaten 70 off 43 balls and Kevin Pietersen scored 64 as England's batting finally came good after skipper Alastair Cook won the toss in the day-night game.
The tourists, who were thrashed by 126 runs and eight wickets in the previous two games, need a win to stay afloat in the five-match series.
India's new look team, without seven players who won the World Cup final against Sri Lanka in April, will chase a target of six runs an over under lights to clinch the series.
Trott and Pietersen, coming together at 53-2, put on 101 for the third wicket on an even-paced pitch ideal for shot-making.
Trott then added 103 for the unbroken fifth with Patel, who hit two sixes and seven fours as England plundered 91 runs in the last 10 overs.
Trott, who was on 94 at the start of the final over from Vinay Kumar, took three runs from the first two deliveries but managed only a single off the fifth to be denied a fourth one-day hundred.
Cook, who fell for zero in the second match, failed once again when he was trapped leg-before by Vinay for three in the fourth over.
Craig Kieswetter made amends for his low scores in the first two matches by pounding two sixes and three boundaries in a quickfire 36 before he was bowled by part-timer Virat Kohli in the 13th over.
Pietersen and Trott battered the Indian bowling till the 29th over when the hosts ended the century partnership through a contentious decision by umpire Sudhir Asnani.
Asnani, standing in an international match for the first time since 1999, declared a stunned Pietersen leg-before even as the tall batsman stretched forward to defend a ball from Ravindra Jadeja.
England managed just 30 runs for the loss of Ravi Bopara's wicket - bowled by Praveen Kumar for 24 - in the batting power-play between the 36th and 40th overs.
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DIVALI WALLPAPERS



 
2011 DiwaliDiwali SeasonArchies DiwaliPopular DiwaliDeepavali DeevaClean DiwaliArray Of DiyasRow Of Diwali DiyaDiwali DeeyaDiwali UpasanaGreat DiwaliDeepavali DiyaHQ DiwaliDiyas Floating
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Amitabh Bachchan turns 69 today, says still learning


“I feel strange sometimes to work with young actors,” says Amitabh Bachchan, who celebrated his 69th birthday today.
Amitabh Bachchan
“I am old compared to today's generation of actors. When I go to the sets, I find mostly youngsters in the 25-30 age group while I am entering my 70th year,” Bachchan told reporters outside his Juhu residence.
Bachchan, who greeted fans outside his home, said, “Sometimes I feel strange at the sets because there is a gap of 30-40 years (between him and the other artistes). But I like their enthusiasm. Our Hindi film industry is progressing. The artistes today are very talented. I hope I will continue to learn from them.”
In a career spanning over four decades, Bachchan has done genre defining roles like the angry young man in 'Zanjeer', 'Deewar', 'Agneepath', the small time thief of 'Sholay', the ageing teacher in 'Black', the 13-year-old child suffering from progeria in 'Paa' and an idealist professor in 'Aarakshan'.



He continues to be one of the most bankable stars at the box office and on the small screen, hosting the fifth season of 'Kaun Banega Crorepati'.
The mega star credits his popularity to his fans and wellwishers. “I find myself lucky to get work in this age. I hope that I get to work with good people,” he said.
Asked whether he is satisfied with all the accolades that have come his way, Bachchan said, “It would be wrong to say that I have everything. But I am satisfied with what I have. I wish the welfare of my family, fans and colleagues.”
 Amitabh Bachchan who is celebrating his 69th birthday today said he prayed for the well being and happiness of his family and fans.

Coming out of his house 'Jalsa' to acknowledge greetings of his fans who had gathered outside, Big B clad in flowing off-white kurta-pyjama attributed his achievements to the blessings of his parents.

Also, "I pray for the well being and happiness of my family and fans," he told reporters.

He said he plans to celebrate quietly with family.

Several fans had queued up outside the bungalow to get a glimpse of the actor who came out and greeted them.

They released balloons when the veteran came out, with a placard even hailing Bachchan as the world's most famous vegetarian.















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India wants contentious issues to figure in Durban climate talks

India made it clear on Monday that it wants contentious issues, including access to intellectual property rights, to be a part of the upcoming climate change talks at Durban in South Africa
New Delhi  has submitted a proposal to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, asking it to include three issues in the agenda. They are: unilateral trade measures, intellectual property rights and equitable access to sustainable development.


India  requested that the three issues be included in the provisional agenda of the 17th meeting of the Conference of Parties to be held in Durban in late November this year. "These issues have been neglected and not properly addressed in the 2010 Cancun," an official statement said.

Developed countries, especially the United States, are of the view that these issues have been settled in Mexico's Cancun.

However, most developing countries are of the view that not all the issues were addressed in Cancun, it added.

Among other things, India is pushing for an IPR regime for developing countries to have access to costly clean western technologies.

The Cancun agreements were silent on IPR issue.
Climate change
"Conference of Parties," the statement said, "should urgently decide on addressing the issue of treating and delivering climate technologies and their IPRs as public good in the interest of the global goal of early stabilisation of climate."

UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro from mid-1992.

Its objective is to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
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I was more surprised than hurt at being dropped: Harbhajan

Harbbhajan Singh says  he was more surprised than hurt when he was axed from the  Indian ODI team - Agencies
Off-spinner Harbbhajan Singh says he was more surprised than hurt when he was axed from the Indian ODI team for the first two ODIs against England.
"I wouldn't say I was hurt. I was more surprised. I wish the younger guys all the best. I am more than happy to share my experience with them like I was helped by Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly while I was coming up," Harbbhajan told PTI in an interview on Wednesday.
Dropped following a lacklustre tour of England, Harbhajan said that despite not being a part of Indian side, he would like to see his teammates take revenge over England in the five-match series, starting on Friday in Hyderabad.
England recently blanked India 0-4 in the Test series before inflicting a humiliating 0-3 defeat in the five-match one-day series at their backyard.
Harbhajan, on his part had a dismal show, as he took only two wickets in 69.4 overs at an average of 143.50 and economy rate of 4.11 before he suffered a stomach injury during the second game and was ruled out for the rest of the tour.
"Harbhajan Singh is immaterial. What is important is India must beat England in the five-match ODI series and take their revenge, which I am sure they would over the next two weeks," he said.
"Ultimately, we are all playing for the country. We all are looking to exact revenge against a team who were so good against us recently," he added.
The feisty spinner also said that India's defeat in England hurt him more than his own omission and it continues to be a recurring nightmare for him.
"It took a lot of hard work for us to reach to the top. And we wouldn't rest till we wrest it back. We won't rest..," he said.
Critics in recent times have found fault with Harbhajan's bowling, saying it was not penetrative enough but the bowler begged to differ.
"First of all you must decide what you expect from a bowler in limited overs format. Do you expect him to take a five-for everytime he bowls his 10 overs or do you want him to put the squeeze on and force the opposition to play into your hands?," asked Harbhajan.
"In a low-scoring match, you would expect him to take wickets. On a belter of a track, you want him to dry up the runs," he added.
In the 17 ODIs this year, the 31-year-old spinner barely conceded over four runs an over during the tours of South Africa and West Indies and in the World Cup.
"In the Caribbean, I took one for 24 from 10 overs, besides scoring 41 with the bat in Antigua to clinch the one-day series. I must have done something right to have survived for 13 years. Who can be more concerned about my performance than myself?" he said.
"I would do what my team wants me to do. I can't keep adjusting every time somebody fancies to write about me. All I can say is that I am now completely fit and full of vigour. I am ready to put my best foot forward."
India turned out to be an inferior side against a rampant England in an away summer but a series of injuries also played a part, including one to Harbhajan in the second Test at Trent Bridge, which skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni often mentions as the moment when his team completely lost its bearing.
Injuries were also an issue with the IPL side -- Mumbai Indians -- but unlike the Indian team, it rode over its misfortune and won its maiden Champions League Twenty20 title last Sunday.
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Bracken's accuser 'not of good character'


Sporting agent Mazhar Majeed (2nd R) leaves Westminster Magistrates court in central London, on March 17, 2011. Three Pakistan cricketers accused of spot-fixing in a test match against England last year appeared in a British court Thursday to face criminal charges. Former captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were greeted by a scrum of photographers and cameramen as they arrived at City of Westminster Magistrates Court in London. British prosecutors last month announced the three players and their agent, Mazhar Majeed, were being charged with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, and also conspiracy to defraud bookmakers. AFP PHOTO/CARL COURT (Photo credit should read CARL COURT/AFP/Getty Images)
FORMER Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, a match-fixing whistleblower, has claimed that several key players from most Test nations are involved in spot- and bracket-fixing but says the former Australian fast bowler Nathan Bracken would not be implicated.
Bracken was also given strong support last night by officials from the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit, who privately said he was of ''very good character''.
Bracken was unknowingly dragged into the match-fixing spotlight yesterday when the agent Mazhar Majeed, who is accused of taking bribes to fix matches involving Pakistan players, claimed in a London court that Australians were ''the biggest'' when it came to rigging games.
In a stunning tape played to the jury as a result of a sting by the now-defunct News of the World, Majeed also named Bracken as one of the players he had managed.
Latif, 42, said it was unlikely Bracken would have been involved in any fixing and said Majeed's testimony could not be believed because ''he is not of good character''.
Latif said bookies were often only interested in luring ''top players who have influence'' and players ''who can change a match''. Bracken, who played five Tests and 116 one-day internationals before retiring in January, was once the world's No.1 ranked one-day international bowler but he had little influence on team decisions.
''It's very difficult to put money on lower players, you don't know what they are going to do,'' Latif said.
Bracken and his manager, Rob Horton, have rejected any links to Majeed. They were furious last night and feared the reputation of the left-arm seamer would be tainted.
However, Latif, who played 37 Tests and 166 one-day internationals and, at one stage, announced his retirement in protest over match-fixing suspicions on the 1994 tour of Zimbabwe, maintains he has suspicions about the type of dismissal of two Australian batsmen several years ago.
Speaking from Karachi, Latif said he did not have enough evidence to take to the ICC. The Herald has withheld the names and the match in question for legal reasons. Majeed said he also knew ''all the agents'', including James Henderson, the man who manages the former Australian captain Ricky Ponting. Henderson denied even knowing who Majeed was.
Latif has warned that world cricket corruption remains a major issue, with Twenty20 now the preferred format for bookies attempting to influence results because the loss of wickets to outlandish shots in the helter-skelter format could be disguised because they were often innocently the norm.
However, he said one-day internationals gave bookies more options, and outlined what some powerbrokers in the cricketing industry believe is a new term - bracket-fixing.
Majeed alleged on tape that Australian players would fix ''brackets'' - certain periods of a one-day international whether that be batting or bowling.
''The Australians, they are the biggest. They have 10 brackets a game,'' he said.
Latif said these brackets were between overs 1-5, 6-10, during the batting and bowling powerplays when fielding restrictions were tightened, and between overs 31-50. This would involve determining how many runs were scored and wickets taken.
Majeed also disclosed what it would cost to fix a game. He said between $80,000 and $130,000 was required for information about a bracket, $640,000 to rig the outcome of a Twenty20 match, $720,000 for a one-day international and $1.6 million for a Test match.
Latif said Pakistani players would always be more susceptible to wooing by underworld figures because they were paid less than most of their international rivals and were not educated as rigorously by their boards on anti-corruption measures.
Tim May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers, the players' worldwide union, told the Herald yesterday it was time to stiffen measures to limit or avoid corruption.
This included giving the international fixture greater meaning and introducing an accredited player-agent scheme for all nations.
Bracken, who wouldn't comment on the insinuation made in the London court when contacted by the Herald last night, was furious and he also feared his reputation risked being sullied.
After being forced to retire from all cricket last January because of a chronic knee problem, the 34-year-old was in the throes of finalising some business opportunities.
Meanwhile, Bracken's case against Cricket Australia for loss of income following a knee injury which forced him into retirement earlier this year heads to court today in Sydney.
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Blackberry service outage caused by core switch failure, says RIM

The disruption in BlackBerry services in India and several other countries since Monday was caused by a core switch failure, makers of the device Research in Motion (RIM) said on Wednesday.

"The messaging and browsing delays being experienced by BlackBerry users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Brazil, Chile and Argentina were caused by a core switch failure within RIM's infrastructure," the Canada-based firm said in a statement.

BlackBerry users have been hit by service disruptions to their smartphones since Monday after a glitch cut off Internet and messaging services for a large numbers of users around the world.

"Although the system is designed to failover to a back-up switch, the failover did not function as previously tested. As a result, a large backlog of data was generated and we are now working to clear that backlog and restore normal service as quickly as possible," RIM said.

Stating that it is working to restore normal service as quickly as possible, the company apologised for the inconvenience to its customers.

RIM, which makes the smartphone, announced on Monday that it had fixed the problem after users across the globe reported not being able to receive or send email, use instant messaging or browse the Internet, though the problems did not appear to be the same for each user, or affect all users.

The problem reappeared on Tuesday.
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PSLV-C18 carrying weather satellite launched


SRIHARIKOTA (ANDHRA PRADESH): PSLV-C18, the Indian rocket carrying the Indo-French tropical weather satellite Megha-Tropiques and three other smaller satellites on Wednesday blasted off from the first launch pad at the space port here.

It was a bright sunny morning as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C18 (PSLV-C18) standing 44 metres tall and weighing 230 tonnes soared towards the heavens, ferrying the four satellites together weighing 1,042.6 kg, around 11am.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists at the rocket's mission control room are watching the PSLV-C18's progress. The Sriharikota space port is around 80 km from Chennai.

The PSLV rocket will cross the 50 satellite launch milestone since 1993 if the mission turns successful.

Heaviest amongst the PSLV-C18's luggage is the 1,000 kg Megha-Tropiques satellite - a result of Indo-French collaboration - designed to study the water cycle and energy exchanges in the tropics.

The satellite will provide scientific data on contribution of the water cycle to the tropical atmosphere with information on condensed water in clouds, water vapour in the atmosphere, precipitation and evaporation.

According to ISRO, Megha-Tropiques with its circular orbit inclined 20 degree to the equator will enable climate research and also aid scientists seeking to refine weather prediction models.

India is the second nation in the world to launch such a space mission.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) -- a joint mission of NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall --was launched Nov 27, 1997.

The French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) has built three instruments of Megha-Tropiques: SAPHIR, SCARAB and GPS-ROS. The fourth, MADRAS, is a joint effort of ISRO and CNES.

The three smaller satellites carried by the PSLV-C18 are the 10.9 kg SRMSAT built by the students of SRM University near Chennai, the three kg remote sensing satellite Jugnu from the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur and the 28.7 kg VesselSat from LuxSpace of Luxembourg to locate ships on high seas.
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Lokpal bill soon, PM tells Anna

Amid the high-pitched war of words between the Congress and Team Anna in the foreground of the Hisar Lok Sabha bypolls, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stepped in to assure activist Anna Hazare that his government is committed to making a strong Lokpal Bill in the near future. Several Congress leaders are trading charges of Team Anna’s RSS links while Hazare and his followers, like Arvind Kejriwal, are asking people to defeat the Congress for the delay in the Lokpal Bill.
Replying to Hazare’s letter of September 21, Singh reminded him that the government is working on an extensive agenda to curb corruption and provide better governance.
He also mentioned that the government was considering various proposals on electoral reforms.
But Singh also reminded Hazare that the demands on electoral reforms (which includes the right to recall) would require political consensus for its implementation. “In a democratic society, political consensus is required in some issues,” Singh wrote while assuring that his government is actively considering electoral reforms.

“We want to discuss the various proposals for electoral reforms with all political parties and want to act on those issues where consensus is evolved,” he added.
Meanwhile, law minister Salman Khurshid said that the government would give constitutional status to the lokpal. The demand — which was first raised by Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi — would require an amendment in the Constitution and the support of at least two-third of MPs in both Houses of Parliament.
In the letter, the Prime Minister also agreed with Hazare that gram sabhas should be empowered and committed to take forward the amendment of articles 73 and 74 of the Constitution.

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Google doodles for Art Clokey

Google's home page today shows a set of five coloured balls that pop up to assume the form of animated clay characters.Google doodle for Art Clokey

With this latest doodle, the search engine celebrates the 90th birth anniversary of stop motion clay animator Arthus (Art) Clokey.

Born in Detriot, USA on October 12, 1921, Clokey was a pioneer of stop motion clay animation, a technique he first used to experiment with in a series of short clay animation movies including a three-minute short called Gumbasia back in 1953.

Out of Gumbasia would be born Gumby, the famous character that would be associated with Clokey through his life.

The short films eventually led to The Gumby Show, which was a hit among audiences in the 50s and 60s.

Gumby's name is said to be inspired by Clokey's childhood experiences of visiting his grandfather's farm, where he first enjoyed playing with clay and mud mixture, which was also called 'gumbo'.

Art Clokey died due to a bladder infection at the age of 88 on January 8, 2010 at his home in California.

Google doodles have become immensely popular over the years with the search engine celebrating major festivals and anniversaries every other day. Some of these doodles like the recent one featured on Freddie Mercury's birthday are animated videos, others like the one for Les Paul's birthday are interactive while most others like the one for Jorge Luis Borges are plain images.
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Friday, October 7, 2011

Here, take this tablet, says Dr Sibal

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT, Rajasthan) has brought out the world’s cheapest tablet, Aakash, at a mere price of Rs 2,250. Launched in a much-publicised event at the Vigyan Bhawan, Aakash is being touted as the poor man’s iPad—India’s answer to a growing need for expansion in the online education sector. 

The manufacturers and promoters have dubbed Aakash as being made ‘completely’ in India. However, the tablet requires its 800 components to come from all over the world. Thirty nine per cent of the components are brought in from South Korea and 24 from China. India manages to produce 16 per cent of the components. Officials at Datawind, a London-based company that specialises in manufacturing small laptops and tablets, say Aakash could be even cheaper if India could manufacture essentials such as the screen and the touchpad.
With 700 pieces being manufactured on an everyday basis in Andhra Pradesh, the HRD ministry’s immediate goal is set at one lakh devices at present. The ministry is also encouraging more and more entrepreneurs to partner on the project.
Speaking on the occasion of the launch, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said that it was one of the rare moments in history, which are recognised by future generations as milestones. “This is dedicated to all of you who are disempowered, living in the fringes of the society. The UPA has always looked at inclusive growth. Technology has been for the rich. However, Aakash will bridge the digital divide. The poorest of students and the most deprived of youths will be accessing world class lectures, the best of the technological world,” said Sibal.
Sibal expressed a firm resolve to introduce a tablet that would cost just $10 or approximately Rs 500. He also went on to reveal that as a Minister for Information and Technology he would introduce a bill in the next monsoon session to ensure ‘electronic delivery of public services’. “Corruption can be substantially curtailed in delivery of public services through delivery in a transparent manner through electronic means,” he added presenting Aakash on a giant screen.
N K Sinha, additional secretary, HRD Ministry said that the gadget would help the ministry in its ambitious project of enhancing Gross Enrolment Ratio by many folds. “People laughed at us in the beginning. It all started in 2007 we took the help of B-tech student and what came out was a mother board that completely demystifies a laptop,” he said.
Dr Prem Kalra, director of IIT (Rajasthan), said that Aakash was an inspiration and encourages entrepreneurship in a big manner. “It’s true, there are glitches. This (the event) too is a field test. The state coordinators will take the tablets for field testing all around the country,” he said. “It all started with an idea. One of our students – a B-tech graduate who helped us in the process too,” he added. The student in question, Kapil Sibal revealed, is Kalra’s son.
Given that Aakash promises to be a “revolution” in its own way, is it the next big thing? According to Datawind, “Aakash is a 7’Android 2.2 touch screen tablet that has a HD video co-processor for a high-quality multimedia experience and core graphics accelerator for faster application support”. Even though the tablet promises to be the next big thing in the world of people-friendly technology, it still has a long way to go as far as applications are concerned.
As TEHELKA found out, even though Aakash has a potential to house 70,000 features, several applications were not functioning. The touch screen, one of the most expensive components in the tablet, is unimpressive. But for Rs 2,250 Aakash still is a breathtaking gadget as it not only plays HD videos but also has the ability to process fast; thus ensuring heightened internet speed. It also offers wi-fi connectivity and two USB ports. Aakash has also an impressive 256 MB RAM and an external memory of 2 GB, expandable upto 32.
For all the plans to introduce E-learning among students in rural areas, the HRD Ministry has a fundamental roadblock in the form of sheer lack of internet connectivity in large swathes of the country. But Datawind seems to have an answer for this too. “We are considering introducing General Pocket Radio System (GPRS) through sim cards in the tablet,” said Suneet Singh Tuli of Datawind.
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Telangana strike enters 25th day

The general strike in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh entered its 25th day on Friday as the impasse continues over the demand for a separate state.
Government employees, teachers, workers in Singareni coal mines and Road Transport Corporation (RTC) are continuing their strike to press the central government to initiate the formation of a separate Telangana state.
With the centre seeking more time to resolve the issue, an early end to the strike is not in sight.
After a break for subdued Dussehra festivities, the protests resumed in the region Friday with striking employees taking out rallies and holding demonstrations in various districts.
Over 10,000 buses of state-owned RTC remained off the roads for the 19th day in Hyderabad and nine other Telangana districts. While the authorities are operating about 200 buses in Hyderabad with the help of private drivers, the road transport in the rest of the region remained paralysed.
RTC officials say the corporation is suffering a daily loss of Rs.7 crore.
As an overwhelming majority of about 70,000 employees in state-owned Singareni Collieries continue the strike, the coal production in 50 mines spread over four districts remains crippled.
The company is producing only 36,000 tonnes of coal against its normal daily production of 150,000 tonnes. The power crisis may deepen further as the thermal power stations run out of coal stocks.
With a daily deficit of 56 million units of power, the state authorities have already imposed four hour power cut in cities and six to 10 hours in semi-urban and rural areas. A two-day power holiday in a week is in force for industries, in addition to daily four hour peak time blackout. Farmers were also hit as they were supplied power for six hours against the normal seven hours a day.
The situation may turn worse with the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) going ahead with the three-day rail blockade Oct 9, 10 and 11. The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) fears a major problem for its Ramagundam thermal station if the coal supplies from other sources were hit due to the blockade.
NTPC Ramagundam is generating only 1,750 MW daily against its capacity of 2,600 MW, hitting the power supply to Andhra Pradesh and other southern states.
Due to the strike in Singareni, NTPC is getting coal from sources outside the state.
The generation of power in thermal stations in the state has already come down from 109 million units to 76 million units.
Singareni officials said the strike was causing a daily loss of Rs.25 crore.
The strike by government employees has already paralysed the administration in the region. The government is losing revenues of over Rs.200 crore every day due to the strike in all key departments.
As teachers also continue the strike, schools and colleges are likely to declare extended holidays for Dussehra. The educational institutions, which remained closed for 20 days due to the strike, were scheduled to open Monday.
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newsoverindia.blogspot.com

newsoverindia.blogspot.com is the best and fastest news publishing source and 24/7 always first in publishing news.
If you are looking for the India News, World news, World Breaking News, Business news, Stock Market News, Forex News, ShowBiz News, Entertainment News, Fun News, Strange news, Funny News, Sports News then newsoverindia.blogspot.com is best place for these news.
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Jessica Simpson

jessica Simpson was born in Texas on 1980, 10th of July its means her Zodiac Sign in Cancer.  Jessica Simpson is well known Singer by profession but her fans also want to see her as glamorous beauty and celebrity.
Here Are some pictures of Jessica Simpson.
Jessica Simpson is known as singer but with this she also work in many commercials, specially with Proactiv Solution and Pizza Hut in one commercial of Ice Breakers she join her sister Ashlee.
 
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Thursday, October 6, 2011

Afghans say plot to kill President Hamid Karzai uncovered

Afghan intelligence spokesman  Lutfullah Mashal

The Afghanistan government says a plot to assassinate President Hamid Karzai was hatched in Pakistan and involved one of his bodyguards.

For a beleaguered and increasingly isolated Afghan President Hamid Karzai, revelations of an alleged assassination plot hatched in Pakistan and involving one of his own bodyguards are another blow to the prospects for a deal to end the Afghan war.

The Afghan government's accusation of a Pakistani link in the alleged assassination plot against the Afghan leader adds new tensions to a cross-border relationship already on edge. Lutfullah Mashal, a spokesman for Afghanistan's main intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, said the ringleaders of the assassination plot, an Egyptian and a Bangladeshi, were based in Pakistan's tribal areas.

Mashal said both were affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Haqqani network, an insurgent faction that has been blamed for a string of recent high-profile attacks, including a strike last month on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, the Afghan capital.

The mood between Afghanistan and Pakistan has darkened in recent weeks, with Karzai's government accusing Pakistan of protecting insurgent groups carrying out attacks inside Afghanistan. And on Tuesday, Karzai traveled to India's capital, New Delhi, to sign a security deal with a country that is Pakistan's longtime rival.

Karzai took pains Wednesday to insist that the pact with India should not be interpreted as an anti-Pakistani measure. Throughout his presidency, Karzai has tried assiduously to cultivate Pakistan as an ally, and the Islamabad government is considered a key player in any effort to talk peace with the Taliban.

But the deepening mistrust and animosity between the two neighbors has put the brakes on Karzai's nascent peace overtures to the Taliban. Progress in drawing the insurgents to the bargaining table would have helped the Obama administration justify a scaling back of the U.S. military presence, already underway and set to accelerate in the coming year.

Pakistan has lashed out angrily at the Obama administration, which recently made its most explicit accusations to date that Pakistan's powerful intelligence service routinely aids and abets the Haqqani network.

Now, accusations of Pakistani involvement in a foiled plot to kill Karzai are likely to further hinder efforts to find a deal to end the fighting. The Afghan government said the plotters had managed to recruit a member of Karzai's security detail, a nightmare scenario of infiltration most feared by high-profile members of Afghanistan's assassination-haunted political scene.

In the last four months, assassins have killed Karzai's half brother, his chief peace negotiator and a senior aide who was also a close personal friend. Their ability to reach so deeply inside the president's inner circle has left the president more and more cut off from many of those around him, some associates say, uncertain as to whether there is anyone at all he can trust.

The six arrested plotters included university students and at least one prominent professor, the head of microbiology at Kabul University — "a dangerous and highly educated group," Mashal said.

In addition to the plan to kill Karzai, the group plotted other attacks in Kabul, and potentially in the United States and Europe, Mashal said. He added that the suspects had confessed and that some co-conspirators were still being sought.

Afghan-Pakistani relations were already under stress in the wake of last month's assassination of the Afghan government's chief peace negotiator, Burhanuddin Rabbani. Afghan intelligence officials have said Rabbani's killer was a Pakistani national, and have accused the Islamabad government of impeding the investigation into Rabbani's death at the hands of a purported peace envoy with a bomb concealed in his turban.

Karzai himself stopped short of accusing Pakistan's government of being behind Rabbani's assassination, but declared this week that Afghanistan's more powerful neighbor had failed to act decisively against insurgent groups that use its soil as a base of operations.

Pakistan's chief spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, has also come under suspicion of involvement in last month's attack on the U.S. Embassy. In a 20-hour siege, a team of gunmen and suicide bombers fired on the heavily fortified embassy compound, using a half-finished building as a staging ground. More than a dozen Afghans were killed in the strike, but there were no American fatalities.

Pakistan's government has denied involvement in the embassy attack, but Afghan officials have cited damning evidence, including repeated cellphone calls made by the assailants to handlers in Pakistan.

For Karzai, the swell of popular anger against Pakistan, and the widespread sentiment among the Afghan public that trying to negotiate with the Taliban is an exercise in futility, presents a complex new set of difficulties as he tries to appease a powerful ethnic minority.

The Tajiks and other northern ethnic groupings, long antagonistic toward Karzai and his Pashtun brethren, have seized on the death of Rabbani as proof that the Pashtun-dominated Taliban cannot be trusted to negotiate in good faith. Karzai is trying to placate them with tough talk, but in the long run, most expect him to cast his lot with his own ethnic kin.

The assassination plot, though foiled — the Afghan intelligence agency did not say exactly how — drove home a chilling reality that all high-ranking Afghan public officials must confront daily. Despite many layers of elaborate security surrounding virtually all of them, a close associate's betrayal can have lethal consequences.

"So you have this pattern where it is hard to allow anyone to be close to you, and then it is hard to have any meaningful relationships, relationships in which people can be candid about problems, and not just say what they know he wants to hear," said a former Karzai aide who contends that the president's frame of reference has narrowed as he relies on a smaller and smaller circle of advisors.

Karzai's younger half brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, was killed in his heavily guarded compound in Kandahar city in July by a longtime family associate. Other high-profile assassinations, a Taliban tactic meant to unnerve and intimidate those in public life, have also relied on getting to someone on the inside. In Afghanistan's convoluted political world, it is often easy to find someone with a secret grudge, or a weakness that can be exploited.

Mashal, the Afghan spy agency spokesman, suggested that the plot, which until Wednesday had been kept under wraps by authorities in a bid to lure out other conspirators, would probably not be the last of its kind. Karzai has survived at least two assassination attempts since taking office soon after the U.S.-led invasion 10 years ago.

With a transfer of security responsibilities to Afghan forces already in progress, Mashal said one of the plotters' key aims was undermining public confidence in the abilities of the police and the army.

"But we can provide security," he said. "And we can keep uncovering these plots."

 

 

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Steve Jobs' spiritual visit to India

SAN FRANCISCO: Passionate, prickly, and deemed irreplaceable by many Apple fans and investors, Steve Jobs made a life defying conventions and expectations.

And despite years of poor health, his death on Wednesday at the age of 56 prompted a global gasp as many people remembered how much he had done to transform the worlds of computing, music and mobile phones, changing the way people communicate and access information and entertainment.

"The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come," said Microsoft co-founder and long-time rival Bill Gates.

"For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor."

The founder of Apple Inc died on Wednesday in Palo Alto, surrounded by his family. The circumstances of his passing were unclear, but Jobs has had a long battle with cancer and other health issues.

Jobs' family thanked many for their prayers during the last year of Steve's illness.

A college dropout, Jobs floated through India in search of spiritual guidance prior to founding Apple -- a name he suggested to his friend and co-founder Steve Wozniak after a visit to a commune in Oregon he referred to as an 'apple orchard.'

With his passion for minimalist design and marketing genius, Jobs changed the course of personal computing during two stints at Apple and then brought a revolution to the mobile market.

The iconic iPod, the iPhone -- dubbed the 'Jesus phone' for its quasi-religious following -- and the iPad are the creation of a man who was known for his near-obsessive control of the product development process.

"Most mere mortals cannot understand a person like Steve Jobs," said bestselling author and venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki, a former Apple employee, in a recent interview. He considers Jobs "the greatest CEO in the history of man", adding that he just had "a different operating system."

Charismatic, visionary, ruthless, perfectionist, dictator - these are some of the words that people have used to describe Jobs, who may have been the biggest dreamer the technology world has ever known, but also was a hard-edged businessman and negotiator through and through.

"Steve was the best of the best. Like Mozart and Picasso, he may never be equalled," said Marc Andreessen, venture capitalist and co-founder of Netscape Communications.

Microsoft's Gates had called Jobs the most inspiring person in the tech industry and President Barack Obama held him up as the embodiment of the American Dream.

It's hard to imagine a bigger success story than Steve Jobs, but rejection, failure and bad fate were part and parcel of who he was. Jobs was given away at birth, driven out of Apple in the mid-80s and struck with cancer when he finally had regained the top of the mountain.

He resigned as CEO of Apple Inc on August 24 -- saying he could no longer fulfill the duties -- and briefly served as chairman before his death.

Jobs grew up with an adopted family in Silicon Valley, which was turning from orchards to homes for workers at Lockheed and other defence and technology companies.

Electronics friend Bill Fernandez introduced him to boy engineer Wozniak, and the two Steves began a friendship that eventually bred Apple Computer.

"Woz is a brilliant engineer, but he is not really an entrepreneur, and that's where Jobs came in," recently remembered Fernandez, who was the first employee at Apple.

Wozniak earlier this year said that his goal was only to design hardware and he had no interest in running Apple.

"Steve Jobs'' role was defined -- you've got to learn to be an executive in every division of the company so you can be the world's most important person some day. That was his goal," joked Wozniak, who is still listed as an employee, even though he has not worked at Apple for years.

Jobs created Apple twice -- once when he founded it and the second time after a return credited with saving the company, which now vies with Exxon Mobil as the most valuable publicly traded corporation in the United States.

Every day to him was 'a new adventure in the company,' Jay Elliot, a former senior vice president at Apple who worked very closely with Jobs in the eighties, said earlier this year, adding that he was 'almost like a child' when it came to his inquisitiveness.

He was highly intolerant of company politics and bureaucracy, Elliot noted.

But the inspiring Jobs came with a lot of hard edges, oftentimes alienating colleagues and early investors with his my-way-or-the-highway dictums and plans that were generally ahead of their time.

Elliot was a witness to the acrimony between Jobs and former Apple Chief Executive John Sculley who often clashed on ideas, products and the direction of the company.

The dispute came to a head at Apple's first major sales meeting in Hawaii in 1985 where the two "just blew up against each other," Elliot said.

Jobs left soon after, saying he was fired.

"It was awful-tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life's gonna hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith," Jobs told a Stanford graduating class in 2005.

He returned to Apple about a decade after he left, working as a consultant. Soon he was running it, in what has been called Jobs' second act.

Jobs reinvented the technology world four or five times, first with the Apple II, a beautiful personal computer in the 1970s; then in the 1980s with the Macintosh, driven by a mouse and presenting a clean screen that made computing inviting; the ubiquitous iPod debuted in 2001, the iPhone in 2007 and in 2010 the iPad, which a year after it was introduced outsold the Mac.
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