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Chrome gets acceleration, WebGL, Google Instant

    On Windows, Chrome's omnibox gets Google Instant results when enabled through about:labs. Also           

    shown is the side tabs option.

Fulfilling a pledge to hasten the pace of Chrome releases, Google has issued its first beta edition of Chrome 7, but the big new changes in the browser come with a new developer-oriented release.

The new beta, Chrome 7.0.517.24, matches that of Tuesday's developer-channel release. That doesn't include too much directly visible to users--the about:labs feature for experimental options is one item--but it paves the way for major changes.

For a preview of those coming attractions, browser users should check the new developer version that's been cooking for weeks, version 7.0.536.2. The new features include the activation by default of the WebGL 3D graphics technology, an option for built-in Google Instant search results, and some hardware acceleration for some CSS transformations, a way of handling dynamic changes using the Cascading Style Sheets formatting standard.

"A lot of the work that's being done in 7.0 is largely not user facing and in some cases is a legitimate work in progress," said Chrome team member Anthony Laforge in a response to comments criticizing the version 7 release as insufficiently novel. "With our new release cycle and about:labs, I'd suggest you stay tuned, things are going to start moving quite fast."

Google offers JPEG alternative for faster Web

It turns out there was more to Google's WebM technology than just a plan to revolutionize Web-based video. The company also wants to revolutionize still images on the Web with a new format called WebP.

Google plans to announce the new WebP graphics format today along with its research that indicates its use could cut image file sizes by 40 percent compared to today's dominant JPEG file format. That translates to faster file transfers and lower network burden if Google can convince people to adopt WebP.

WebP, like JPEG, lets its users trade off image quality for file size. And like JPEG, it's a "lossy" format, meaning it doesn't perfectly reproduce an original image but tries to keep as true to the original as possible when viewed by the human eye.

Unlike JPEG, though, it's not built into every camera, Web browser, image-editing program, pharmacy photo-printing kiosk, and mainstream operating system in existence. That's not stopping Google, though, whose goals with WebP are ambitious even if not as ambitious as replacing JPEG.

Ayodhya verdict: Allahabad High Court says divide land in 3 ways

Sixty years after it first went to court, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has pronounced verdict on the Ayodhya title suit.

Senior advocate and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad emerged from court today to say that the three-judge bench had ruled in a majority judgement 2:1, that one-third part of the disputed land should be given to the Sunni Waqf Board, one-third to the Nirmohi Akhara and one-third to the party for 'Ram Lalla'. Prasad represents one of the litigants.

Ravi Shankar Prasad claimed the court had ruled that the place where the idol of Ram was kept was the birthplace of the deity and the idols should not removed.

Prasad claimed that the court had asked for a status quo for three months and in that time the litigants had to decide how to split the party.

Litigants emerged from the courtroom with copies of the judgment and there has been chaos outside the Lucknow court ever since.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court comprising Justice S U Khan, Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice D V Sharma, delivered the judgement today.

The dispute at hand is about whether the 2.7 acres of disputed land on which the Babri Masjid stood before it was demolished on December 6, 1992, belongs to the Sunni Central Waqf Board or to the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.

It has been a protracted legal battle, and people across the country have spoken in one voice on the need to maintain peace and harmony irrespective of the verdict.

Decision on holy site could spark Indian riots

Rejecting a petition seeking deferment of the verdict onAyodhya dispute case, the Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Lucknow bench ofAllahabad High Court to give its judgement. The high court bench will now deliverthe judgement on September 30. AYODHYA TIMELINE 

A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia, dismissed the petition of former bureaucrat Ramesh Chandra Tripathi who was insisting for an out-of-court settlement. Justices Aftab Alam and K.S. Radhakrishnan were the other judges on the bench.


The SC bench heard all parties involved in the title suit. It was of the view that the verdict could not be delayed as all contesting parties were in agreement on the issue of delivery of judgement. At the hearing, the parties in the dispute clearly indicated that an out of court reconciliation was not possible.

Except Nirmohi Akhara, which wanted three months to explore the possibility of an out-of-court settlement, all other parties to the 60-year-old case opposed the delay in verdict.

On behalf of the government, Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati said whatever be the ruling there must be no further delay. The uncertainty should not be allowed to continue, he said.

Rejecting Tripathi's petition, Justice Alam asked why he had woken up so late to seek an amicable out-of-court settlement.

The Supreme Court had on September 23 stayed the high court verdict following the deferment plea just a day before it was to be announced.

The high court bench will now deliver the verdict in the 60-year-old title suit at 3.30 pm on Thursday. One of the three judges on the bench -- Justice Dharam Veer Sharma -- retires the next day.

Apple turns museums, zoos into interactive games

The smartphone app SCVNGRannounced Wednesday it is teaming up withNational Geographic to try to make visiting zoos, aquariums and museums more like having an adventure or playing a childhood game.

Visitors to select zoos, aquariums and theNational Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C., will be able to use the smartphone app to complete challenges, earn points in the app and pick up rewards.Kids who earn 10 points while touring the Dallas Zoo, for example, will get a free backpack from National Geographic. At that zoo, kids earn points by completing challenges that are somewhat silly but also educational. For example, kids are asked to point their phone's camera at an animal that blends well into its environment. After doing so, the app recognizes that they have completed the "Camouflaged!" challenge, and two points are awarded.

What Google learned from its Buzz 'stumble'

 Google Buzz "stumbled out of the gate" -- a misstep that went on to shape Google's approach to social networking, Google executive Bradley Horowitz said Tuesday.

"There was a lot we learned in the first 48 hours putting the product to market, and there's a lot we've learned since," Horowitz said during a panel discussion at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference. "There's opportunities that have emerged from what we've learned that have allowed us to rethink the social strategy."

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) launched its Buzz messaging tool in February, and suffered an immediate backlash from users upset about the feature's slipshod privacy tools. Google quickly tweaked some of the settings, but Buzz hasn't caught on in the crowded social-media field; it's a "me too" effort with few distinguishing features.

Google's recent social-media efforts have been more incremental. The company snapped up a string of startups last month, but it doesn't plan to assemble them into one monolithic "Facebook killer" effort. Instead it plans to gradually integrate social-networking features throughout its entire product catalogue, adding a "social layer" to its offerings.

"It's going to be a journey for Google to get to the right place in social," said Horowitz, who heads product management for many of Google's key applications, including Gmail, Blogger and Google Voice.

His comments came shortly after a speech from Google CEO Eric Schmidt mapping out his company's view of the technology-powered future. The smartphone is "the defining and iconic device of our time," he said. "Your strategy should be mobile first."

Charge your phone with renewable energy

Solar cell phone chargers aren't just greener. They're also a handy piece of emergency equipment, especially if you get stranded (at least, during the daytime) with no access to a working electrical outlet. Or if you're spending time outdoors (at your kid's baseball game or doing yard work), you can keep your phone available and ready without running down the battery.

Examples include:

• iSun, which claims to be compatible (via adapter cables) with most feature phone and smartphone brands, as well as popular mobile gaming devices and media players. The company also offers a larger model for charging laptops.
• Solio Classic, a compact model featuring an attractive petal-like design and a long list of compatible mobile devices. (CNET review.)
• Solar iPhone glove, offered by GadgetTown.com.
• The Monaco mobile phone solar charger. See review at The Cell Phone Junkie.

Also, solar chargers are available for many cell phone accessories, such as speaker phones (for car use) or Bluetooth headsets.

BlackBerry unveils PlayBook tablet

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion unveiled the PlayBook, a tablet computer, at a developer conference Monday.

The tablet market is so far dominated by Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and its popular iPad, but other tech companies are trying to cash in as well.

Every successful professional has a great PlayBook," said Mike Lazaridis, co-chief executive of RIM, at the BlackBerry Developer conference in San Francisco.

The PlayBook tablet features a 7-inch screen, Flash-capable video and a front and rear high-definition camera. It's thin, at just 9.7 millimeters, and weighs 0.9 pounds. Lazaridis did not name a price.

For now, the PlayBook -- which will be released in 2011 -- can connect to the Internet only via Wi-Fi. RIM said it plans to offer 3G and 4G models sometime in the future.

Still, Lazaridis said RIM's goal was "to offer an uncompromised Web experience."

The PlayBook includes a 1 GHz dual-core processor and 1 GB of RAM. It's compatible with HDMI video output and Bluetooth, as well as microHDMI and microUSB.

Why the no-fun 'FarmVille' is so popular?

Zynga's hit Facebook game "FarmVille" is arguably the most widely played video game in existence. What is especially impressive about that is that "FarmVille" isn't any fun.

We aren't being snobs, saying people shouldn't like it because it isn't good. We're saying that people don't like it, but they play it anyway.

Try explaining "FarmVille" to someone who has never played it, and watch their eyes glaze over. Ask your friends who fill your Facebook newsfeed with their "FarmVille" accomplishments, and you'll find that most of them are embarrassed. They think the game is stupid and boring, but they just can't stop playing.

So why do so many people play "FarmVille" if it isn't fun?

There are two main reasons:

The simplest reason is advertising. "FarmVille" is advertised like crazy all over Facebook, so it's always in everyone's face. This advertising is incredibly effective, because it is so immediate: You click on the ad, and you're playing the game.

Supreme court clears way for verdict on holy site

India's Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the go-ahead for a verdict on a holy site claimed by both Hindus and Muslims -- and one is expected within 48 hours.

The verdict by the Allahbad High Court was initially expected last Friday, but the Supreme Court temporarily stayed it.

The judgment will decide ownership of long-disputed land in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya.

The town has been a religious flashpoint for more than 400 years. Hindus believe that Lord Rama, one of the religion's most revered deities, was born there.

Obama questioned on abortion, why he is a Christian

An event billed as a discussion on the economy turned personal Tuesday when a woman asked President Barack Obama about his Christian faith and views on abortion.

The question came at a town hall-style meeting in the yard of an Albuquerque home as part of Obama's public outreach to explain his policies and campaign for Democrats in the November congressional elections.

With a recent survey showing that only a third of Americans can correctly identify Obama as a Christian, the president gave a personal account of his conversion as an adult and how his public service is part of his faith.

"I am a Christian by choice," Obama began, standing beneath a blazing sun, when asked why he is a Christian.

"I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead," Obama said. "Being my brothers' and sisters' keeper. Treating others as they would treat me. And I think also understanding that, you know, that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility that we all have to have as human beings."

New Trailer of Disney Tangled

Twitter now getting more traffic than MySpace

Twitter's number of monthly unique visitors finally surpassed that of MySpace in August. Though it ranked third among social networking sites, Twitter ranked #50 in the list of top 50 properties overall. The numbers were crunched by the marketing research firm comScore.

Twitter's lead over MySpace was marginal -- 96 million versus 95 million -- but the trend over time paints a prettier picture of the microblogging service. Between August 2009 and August 2010, Twitter grew 76 percent while MySpace dropped 17 percent.

It's apples and oranges, though. Twitter is now a social publishing and news discussion platform more than anything, and MySpace is attempting to position itself as a destination for young people to discover new music, movies and games. Both appeal to brands that want to reach new people, but they're very different tools for very different kinds of brands.

Mahesh Khaleja audio released

 01-Pileche
    

02 - Bhoom Shakenaka

03-Sada Siva

04 - Makathika

05 - Sunday Monday 

06 - Taxi 

Delhi-London compromise for Games opening ceremony

After the UK media reported on a clash over who would inaugurate the Opening Games, sources in the Indian government confirm a compromise has been reached that suits the offices of both Prince Charles and President Pratibha Patil.

Traditionally, the Queen - who is the head of the Commonwealth - opens the Games. Since she is skipping these Games - for the first time in 40 years - Prince Charles will represent her at the opening ceremony on October 3.

Prince Charles' office had earlier said that he will declare the Games open. "There is no row. Both The Prince of Wales and The President of India will have a prominent role in the opening ceremony in Delhi. The Queen has asked The Prince of Wales to represent her at the opening of the Commonwealth Games. We cannot be specific about the choreography but The Prince will read out The Queen's baton message, ending by declaring the Games open."

Sources said the Indian government worried that was disrespectful to the office of the President.

The plan has now been finalised. Prince Charles will read the Queen's statement and President Patil will say "let the Games begin".

'Buddy, are you Indian?' asked Oz teens before attack

After a lull in racial attacks against Indians in Australia, a 21-year-old man from the community was brutally assaulted by a group of teenagers with baseball bats after they asked him "Buddy, are you Indian?"

The man was walking to Sandown Park rail station here when four teenage boys on bikes approached him, three with baseball bats, police were quoted as saying by local newspaper 'Dandenong Leader'.

One of them asked him "Buddy, are you Indian?"

Police official Jo Hayden said the man was hit from behind, fell and was kicked while lying on the ground. Two passers-by took him home.

He was bruised and had a large cut on his nose and told police that his attackers looked about 15-16 years old, the report said, without naming the victim.

Federation of Indian Association of Victoria (FIAV) President Vasan Srinivasan said he was surprised about the attack which took place in eastern suburb which is considered to be multicultural.

"My only request to youngsters is, let's learn to respect each other, live with harmony and peace. What else we can say?" Srinivasan was quoted as saying by the paper.

Supreme Court to hear Ayodhya deferment plea today

Today the Supreme Court will decide on whether to allow the High Court in Lucknow to deliver its verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute before the end of the month.

Retired bureaucrat Ramesh Chand Tripathi has asked that the verdict be deferred to allow the contesting parties to arrive at some sort of settlement.

"The difference between Mandir group and Masjid group are so diverse. That's why we want the judgement to be pronounced," says Anoop Chaudhri who is representing the Sunni Central Waqf Board in court.

But the Nirmohi Akhara, also a key party in the suit, said it will request the Supreme Court  to ask for the verdict to be deferred for three months to allow for a solution through negotiations.

TCS bags IT deal from Karnataka govt

Software export major TCS said it has bagged a contract from the state of Karnataka for establishing and managing a proposed State Data Centre (SDC). 

The new SDC will provide better operation and management control and minimise overall cost of data management, IT resource management, deployment and other costs, TCS said in a press statement. 

However, the company did not divulge financial details on the contract received from Karnataka. 

"E-governance is the only good road to good governance and while technology is expensive, not using technology is even more expensive," Government of Karnataka e-Governance Department Principal Secretary M N Vidyashankar said. 

TCS will assist the government of Karnataka in establishing a reliable and efficient SDC. The company has already done similar e-governance projects on behalf of the states of Puducherry and Uttar Pradesh. 

TCS is already associated with the Centre for e- Governance in setting up the new Secretariat Local Area Network (LAN). 
It has also been managing the entire Secretariat LAN of the government of Karnataka for five years, the company said. Shares of TCS were trading at Rs 929.90 on the BSE today, down 0.17 per cent from the previous close.

Salman Butt forced Aamir into fixing: Sources

In a shocking revelation, Mohammad Aamir has informed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that he was lured and dragged into spot fixing by suspended Test skipper Salman Butt. 

The young left-arm pacer is presently serving suspension by the ICC for his alleged involvement in spot fixing during the fourth Test against England at Lord's last month, along with Butt and Mohammad Asif. 

Sources in the PCB said that Aamir had told chairman Ijaz Butt that he never wanted to be part of this "business" (spot fixing) but was forced into it by Butt and Asif. "Aamir had gone to Butt and claimed he was innocent and a victim of the "seniors power lobby" in the team," a source said. 

Another source revealed that Aamir, regarded as one of Pakistan cricket's most promising young talent, had told manager Yawar Saeed about the pressure being exerted on him by Butt. 

"Aamir's claim is that he just did what he was told to do. He is claiming innocence now and says he didn't even know Mazhar Majeed was introduced to him by Butt and Asif," the source said. 

Quite a few former Test captains, and even Pakistan's former President, Pervez Musharraf, have urged the ICC to show leniency towards Aamir, all of 18. But chief selector, Mohsin Khan said that he didn't agree with the viewpoint that Aamir should be shown leniency because of his age. 

"I don't buy this argument because if you can do something wrong at 18, you can keep on doing it later as well. If these three players are found guilty they should be punished, including Aamir," Mohsin said. 

The chief selector insisted that no cricketer was indispensable and there should be no compromise on discipline and commitment towards your team and country. 

"Aamir must be punished if he is guilty. I just hope that that these three are eventually cleared because they have already damaged the reputation of Pakistan cricket and the country," Mohsin said

Prince Charles to open CWG instead of Patil

Ending weeks of speculation over who will inaugurate the Commonwealth Games, the British royal family on Monday announced thatPrince Charles will declare the event open instead of Indian President Pratibha Patil.

After confusion grew over who will open the event among the two, Charles' office Clarence House issued a statement, asserting that the heir-to-the-throne will inaugurate it.

Charles is attending the Games as a representative of Queen Elizabeth II, the ceremonial head of the Commonwealth who will give the event a miss for the first time in 44 years.

"There is no row. Both The Prince of Wales and the President of India will have a prominent role in the opening ceremony in Delhi. The Queen has asked The Prince of Wales to represent her at the opening of the Commonwealth Games.

"We cannot be specific about the choreography but The Prince will read out the Queen's baton message, ending by declaring the Games open," a statement from the Clarence House read.

Earlier, a British tabloid quoted some of the officials of the Indian Department of Information as saying that the Indian President would open the Games.

EPL: Owen earns Man Utd 2-2 draw

Substitute Michael Owen headed a goal with his first touch of the ball to give Manchester United a point from a 2-2 draw with  Bolton in the Premier League on Sunday.

The former England striker came off the bench in the 71st minute and glanced home Nani's free kick three minutes later to put United second in the table — three points behind Chelsea and one above Arsenal.

Portugal winger Nani's superb solo goal had earlier canceled out the opener scored by Zat Knight, but Martin Petrov put United's northwest neighbor Bolton in the lead again with a deflected shot in the 67th minute.

Snake found in athlete's room at CWG Village

There seems to be no end to the problems confronting the organisers of the  Commonweath Games with the South African envoy in Delhi, claiming that a snake was found in an athlete's room in the Village.

A snake was found in a room in  the residential tower , earmarked for the South African athletes, who have not arrived yet, said Commissioner Harris Mbulelo Mejeke.

"We can't go and stay till things are fixed up. We have very grave concerns. If snakes are found we can't ask our teams to stay there. Yesterday we found a snake but I don't know whether it was an Indian snake. But it was there in one of our rooms," Mejeke said before entering the Village.

30 High Quality Water Drops Wallpapers

Here are some high quality Water drop wallpapers...

Chennai Super Kings beat Warriors to win Champions League T20

Indian Premier League champions Chennai Super Kings thrashed South African home favourites Warriors by 8 wickets to win the Champions League Twenty20 final in Johannesburg on Sunday. 

Scorecard 

Murali Vijay (58) and Mike Hussey (51 not out) put on 103-run opening partnership to help Super Kings surpassed the modest 129-run target set by the Warriors with six balls to spare. 

Vijay hit two sixes and six fours in his 53-ball classy knock and won the 'golden bat' award for the highest run-scorer of the tournament. The Chennai opener scored 294 runs in six innings, followed by the Warriors' skipper Davy Jacobs, who scored 286 runs. 

Bom Sabado Worm in Orkut Fixed by Google

The ‘Bom Sabado’ worm which had hacked through millions of Orkut accounts is now removed by Google. Google released a statement in their blog which notified all users that the worm Bom Sabado has been dealt with & Orkut is safe for now.

The worm Bom sabado which has a very ironic translation into Portuguese meaning ‘Good Saturday’ had affected the social networking site Orkut on Saturday 25th September. The worm did nothing like post malicious links, rather it just left scraps from the infected account to every friend’s scrapbook.