They got me in the end, with their Hillsong eyes and enhanced browsing experiences.
I'd given it a red hot go, staving off their advances. But damn it, they impose themselves upon you, insinuating the topic into every discussion, like a mid-level Scientologist just one more convert coupon away from a weekend retreat with Tom Cruise and a ride on the mothership. So I bought an iMac. And I haven't looked forward since.
It's the smugness that does you in the end.
I mean, there's the operating system, 'Snow Leopard' . I just want it on the record – I had no idea at the time. And what's with the unnerving, Narnia-like motif? I mean snow? Felines? Grace, adventure and beauty? A nod to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?
You know they say the author CS Lewis, was a closet supremacist. Now, it's not mine to suggest the good guys at Apple are inbreeding computer parts in some demented plot to create a master race of 'advanced hardware technology'. But I will say be careful what you wish for and look not to their sleek, uniform 27" ubercomputers, but recall instead certain Royals who were locked in attics, hidden from view over the centuries.
OK, it's purdy, I'll grudgingly cede that. While booting into Windows is a series of Get Smart-style doors slamming behind you (but one where your foes have already skimmed all the swipe mechanisms), logging into a Mac is relatively secure super terrific happy fun hour.
The packaging is a fetishist's wet dream, each peripheral presented as though it were a Hermes Egg. I will say this much, it did get up and running lickety-split. But ever since then it's been one big 'meh'…
Yes, it's all 'whoosh', 'swoosh' and 'check this out', but only in a very bad way. There's the Star Trek-style 'dock', where you access your applications from what appears to be a bouncing castle fashioned entirely out of stupidity. 'Finder', the interface for dealing with files scores a bore draw with Windows Explorer. Web browsers have mastered tabbing, why is this so difficult for file interfaces? It's like turning up to the circus and watching the seals do OK on the trapeze, because the acrobats 'can't be arsed'.
There's a 'Classic View' mode in Windows that allows you to scale back the bells and infuriating whistles to run a more grown-up version of the O/S that doesn't chew up your RAM. My iMac could really do with a 'Just Shut the Freaking Hell Up and Do Whatever It Is You're Supposed to Do' mode. Hell, I'd happily have a whip-around to cover the R & D, so long as none of the money was used on those god-awful ads.
'The world's most advanced operating system. Finely tuned' chunters the web site. The only thing I'm finding finely tuned are my nuts, as I log the minutes watching that goddamn beach ball of suspended disbelief (Apple calls it a 'spinning wait cursor' - whatever).
The Leopard, the Glitch and the Slow Mode would at least honour the trades description act.
And then you take a look at Windows 7 and you see there isn't that much to choose between the two systems. Hardcore Mac users, once they've ratified the fatwa, will respond that's the competition's fault, pointing to their slavish replication. To which I say fine and dandy but I'm still left with a digital Hobson's choice. Yes, it's all slightly better, but that's just it – only slightly better.
The problem is twofold. Namely, the average punter uses their machine to simply surf, email and post flattering, out-of-date headshots on FaceBum. It's the nerds, the army of beta-testing anoraks who are doing the heavy lifting. But nobody else runs these systems through their paces. Certainly, nobody complains as much to the manufacturers. And, as a result, you get this one-size-fits-all attitude. It's a wonder any of the bugs get fixed at all. Propellor-heads, I salute you...
The other problem is the absence of competitors to force those two death stars, Microsoft and Apple, to truly innovate. But, no, wait, who's the coming over the horizon to strike a blow for the little guy? Why out of nowhere, comes the impish Google. Marvellous.
When I was a kid, I recall reading books with futuristic fonts that mapped out the next fifty years. And I distinctly remember being promised motorised footpaths and hover-scooters. Now, I don't mind telling you, I'm more than a little pissed that none of this has come to pass. So is it too much to ask for truly personalised home PCs? Show me a graphic designer and an accountant who can get by on the same machine and I'll show you two numbskulls who shouldn't be allowed near heavy machinery.
Instead the alternative is turtle-neck sweaters crossed with sealed-section interior design inserts and I want no part of it. I blame the Swedes. For though I initially laboured under the misapprehension my extra $500 was for enhanced performance, I now understand it was all about opening up a whole new world of IKEA showroom integration possibilities. And now I'm screwed, because my East European, who is otherwise sensible about most things, is down with the brutal minimalism.
So now we're doomed to accessorise. You want to get into the mind of a Mac user? Easy. Think of the router as the belt, the cable as a tie and the keyboard and mouse as shoes and cufflinks. It's dress-up Barbie and Ken for social spastics. Lookit, this all-in-one scanner-fax thingy can be the campervan…
"Does this printer come in tan?" is not a question I ever want to hear, much less feature in a conversation I am taking part in.
It's a more stylish misery, that's all. Damn it, just typing the lower case i on 'iMac' makes me break out in a rash.
I can see the Mac clergy shaking their heads in mild, pious bemusement. "He'll come round; he just needs to avail himself all the Snow Leopard's binary finery…"
'Snow Leopard'. Jesus wept. Clearly, it's base narcissism; aspirational mean-nothing codswallop pitched to appeal to vain, chronic self-abusers with spectacle frames thin enough cut platinum and Dan Brown novels stacked next to Buffy the Vampire Slayer box sets on their shelves at home . And now I am one of them. Life continues to disappoint.
Windows, Mac OSX, CS Lewis – all cold-blooded, rapacious time thieves.
Monday, February 15, 2010
It was a ‘Beauty contest’ with a difference
One of the coaches that participated in the contest in Chennai on Monday.—
CHENNAI: It was a beauty contest with a difference. The contestants were not men or women sashaying down the ramp promoting a product but diesel locomotives and passenger coaches.
Refurnished and rejuvenated, the sparkling ‘steel beauties’ were cynosure of all eyes at the Chennai Central station here on Monday.
The participants – nine coaches from various divisions and workshops and five locomotives from diesel sheds of Southern Railway – were decked up in style to capture the attention of the jury and audience at the station, including General Manager Deepak Krishan.
They were judged mainly on their user-friendliness, safety record and additional passenger amenities.
These locomotives and coaches have been in operation for over 10 years, which are being overhauled by various loco sheds and workshops of Southern Railway. Some of the user-friendly amenities incorporated in the coaches included toilets for persons with disability, berth numbers in Braille for visually challenged persons, coach indication boards and GPS-based information system, provision of water purifier and reading light for reservation chart.
The General Manager said some of the features were innovative and would be studied and implemented in coaches in a phased manner when the coaches came for periodic overhauling.
The locos were judged by a panel of judges on the basis of their age, running condition, including painting, cleanliness, comforts to the pilots, safety equipment, energy conservation etc. The modifications in the locos were carried out based on feedback from the running staff.
In the coach contest the sleeper coach of Chennai Division was crowned the best decorated coach and the Tiruchi Division’s coach bagged the runner-up prize. Amongst the three workshops, Golden Rock and Carriage Works, Perambur won the joint first position.
The winners The 31-year-old loco, refurnished by Golden Rock, was adjudged the winner and the loco of Golden Rock and Erode Diesel shed joint second.
Mr. Krishan who gave away the trophies to the winners lauded the efforts put in by engineers and technicians and exhorted them to incorporate these features in all locos in the division.
Astronauts successfully install 'room with a view' on ISS
Astronauts installed a new segment, Tranquility, and a seven-windowed cupola on the International Space Station that should give astronauts the most stunning views of Earth ever seen. When this mission ends, the core assembly tasks for the US segments of the station will be complete.
Astronauts Robert Behnken (l.) and Nicholas Patrick (r.) work on the exterior of the Tranquillity module of
the ISS during their spacewalk Saturday.
By late Wednesday or Thursday, astronauts on the station should be able to open the shutters of a $27-million, seven-windowed cupola, now snugly bolted to its proper spot on a new space-station segment astronauts installed during the past week.
Both were delivered by the space shuttle Endeavour and its six-member crew during the shuttle's current mission, now at its halfway point.
The cupola in essence is the station's version of a seven-pane bay window. In its workaday role, it provides a place where crew members inside can provide an extra set of eyes to help colleagues on spacewalks. It also hosts a second set of controls the crew can use to operate the station's robotic arm.
But the cupola – nearly 10 feet across at its base and some 5 feet deep – also "is really one of the most spectacular viewing platforms that we will have had in space," says Kwatsi Alibaruho, the lead shuttle flight director for this mission. "We're eagerly awaiting the release of the shutters and the first views."
Anticipation of those first views has come after a sometimes frustrating installation effort.
Initially, the cupola was attached to one end of the new segment, Tranquility, to ensure that both elements would fit inside Endeavour's payload bay. But as astronauts worked on Sunday to loosen the bolts holding the cupola in that spot, several bolts balked.
After engineers on the ground analyzed the problem, they gave shuttle commander Jeffery Williams the OK to apply a more-forceful twist, which did the trick. In addition, loose wiring initially looked as though it might interfere with the cupola's final installation, although engineers also were able to determine that the wires posed no problem.
The tighter-than-expected bolts likely resulted from technicians on the ground wanting to make sure that the hardware connecting the two wouldn't be damaged during the intense stresses of launch.
"It was a hard-fought victory," Mr. Alibaruho said during a briefing with reporters this morning.
In addition, crew members also declared victory over a balky urine processor -- which purifies waste for reuse as drinking water. The ability to reprocess waste water of all kinds is important for supporting a six-member space station crew. In addition, astronauts appear to have gotten the upper hand over an oxygen generator that was giving the crew trouble.
The next spacewalk for shuttle crew members is scheduled for Wednesday, when two astronauts will finished hooking Tranquility up to the station's external cooling system. They also will remove locks that held the cupola's shutters in place during launch.
In the meantime, other crew members will begin installing the robotic-arm work station in the cupola, as well as moving life-support equipment currently housed in the US laboratory to Tranquility. Mission managers have extended the trip by one day to accommodate these tasks.
By the time shuttle astronauts bid their farewells to the station crew on Friday, the station will have reached what Alibaruho calls a great milestone. The core assembly tasks for the US segments of the station essentially will be complete, he says.
With only four missions remaining after Endeavour and its crew end their 14-day trip on Sunday, with a scheduled night landing at the Kennedy Space Center, the imminent end of the shuttle program is not lost on mission managers or astronauts.
"This crew has done a very good job of taking the time to enjoy and reflect on the opportunities that they have in space right now," Alibaruho says. The sentiments were reflected in a phone call Alibaruho says he took from shuttle pilot Terry Virts indicating "that they were really taking it all in and really enjoying their work time as well as their time off."
'Zardari is cle-arly in a soup over court nominations.''
That decision opened the doors to possible prosecution of Zardari’s political allies. The latest standoff between the SC court and the presidency has triggered speculation on what Zardari might do next to impose his will. His predecessor imposed emergency in November 2007 and sacked dozens of SC judges, including the chief justice, a decision that marked the beginning of the end of his rule. It brought judges and lawyers out on the streets and triggered mass protests. Less than a year later, with the sword of impeachment hanging over his head Musharraf was forced to step down. Zardari could face a similar fate if he decides to impose emergency.
Zardari is in a soup. If it is proved that he did indeed violate the constitution in his recommendation of judges then the SC could disqualify him. It does seem that he has only two options before him — go on a collision course with the SC or do an about-turn on the issue of the judicial appointments. Either way, he will not come out of this crisis unscathed. Even if he does survive politically, he will emerge with his eroding credibility severely damaged.
Controversy-clouded Zardari has become a huge liability for the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). There are signs that the party is seeking to marginalise him. Initially Prime Minister Gilani was in the sidelines, overshadowed by Zardari. But increasingly he seems to be emerging from the shadows. The reported rift between the president and the prime minister is said to be serious. Whether the PPP stands by a sinking Zardari remains to be seen.
Microsoft needs big leap to catch up on smartphone technology
Even Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates acknowledged this week to an OMG moment when he first saw the iPhone. In an interview with business Web site Bnet, Gates recalled when he first saw the iPhone, he said, "Oh, my god, Microsoft didn't aim high enough."
On Monday, the company hopes to regain some footing with an announcement at the World Mobile Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain, that will feature CEO Steve Ballmer. Many expect Ballmer will release Windows Mobile 7.0, a new version of its operating system for smartphones.
"It can't be incremental improvement; it's got to be something bigger," said Will Stofega, a mobile-device analyst at IDC, a research company in Framingham, Mass. "We can't see another Windows Mobile 6.5.3.2."
Microsoft's lack of progress in the mobile-phone business, now a hot pot of app development, is having a black-hole effect, sucking the rest of the company's reputation for innovation down with it.
No matter what bells and whistles Microsoft adds to Windows 7 or Xbox, some see the company as a technology has-been because it has no answer to the iPhone.
"Even the people at Microsoft would be hard-pressed to defend the state that it's in now," Stofega said.
Deborah Sommer, senior marketing manager of the Microsoft mobile group, said in a statement Thursday: "The market for powerful phones has shifted dramatically over the last three years, reflecting changes in the customer, the technology and the competitive landscape. We're excited about the current generation of Windows phones and the experiences they bring to life today."
At this point, just catching up would be a leap forward.
From 2008 to 2009, Microsoft's slice of the smartphone operating-system market shrank from 13.1 percent to 10.7 percent. Meanwhile, Apple grew from 9.1 to 14.4 percent, and Google's Android system started with half a percent and grew to 3.5 percent, according to IDC. Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, rose to 19.6 percent from 15.6 percent.
By the end of this year, Google is projected to jack-rabbit to 10.3 percent.
Over the last three years, Microsoft has mostly stood by as other companies came out with new devices and features.
In February 2007, at the same trade show in Barcelona, Microsoft released Windows Mobile 6.0. At the time, its main competition was RIM's BlackBerry and Symbian, used largely by Nokia. The new features in Windows Mobile included the ability to view photos in e-mail and edit Microsoft Office documents.
A month earlier, Apple had overshadowed every other player in the mobile market with the iPhone. The touch-screen with pinch-and-pull interaction changed Web browsing on a phone, and the iTunes-like application store attracted thousands of developers.
"I think the iPhone kind of caught them (Microsoft) by surprise," said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at the independent research firm Directions on Microsoft, based in Kirkland. "I think they thought it would appeal to the same people who buy Macs, which is 4 to 5 percent of the market."
In fall 2007, Google came out with Android, its own operating system for mobile phones. The first Android phone started selling about a year later.
The company was on track to produce about a dozen devices - all carrying the brand names of mobile phone carriers - by the end of 2009. Then in January, it introduced its own branded phone, the Nexus One.
Last October, more than two years after the launch of Windows Mobile 6.0, Microsoft released an incremental update, Windows Mobile 6.5. It also re-branded phones with a slightly more consumer-friendly name "Windows Phones."
The update had new features, such as the ability to back up contact information online, and a new marketplace for applications. Reviewers panned it.
Microsoft suffered another blow when users of the Sidekick, a T-Mobile USA device whose services are run by Microsoft subsidiary Danger, lost their contacts and other data for several weeks. They publicly ranted about it on Twitter and other social networks for just as long.
Observers say Microsoft still has some advantages, such as its strong ties with corporate customers through its other businesses. Phone users tend to replace their handsets every two to three years, giving any company room to reinvent.
Microsoft so far has also differentiated itself from competitors by neither building a device from soup to nuts like Apple nor going the open-source route like Google.
Some have suggested Microsoft catch up by spending handsomely to buy RIM, valued at about $37.6 billion, or Nokia, which is worth about $48.5 billion.
The last time Microsoft tried to purchase a major publicly traded company, Yahoo, it spent months in an attempt that never came together and ended in a partnership instead.
IDC's Stofega doesn't think Microsoft needs to buy a company. He points to Google as an example of a company that built a niche in the market without buying a handset maker.
As Jack Shephard said on a recent episode of "Lost," nothing's irreversible.
"There's a lot of people that have counted them out," Stofega said. "I don't. I think they have work to do.
World's largest cruise ship voted "most exciting cruise innovation"
The launch of the world's largest cruise ship has been voted the most exciting cruise ship innovation in a new survey of cruise trends released February 11.
The annual Cruise Holidays Cruise Trends Survey voted the Royal Caribbean's 5,400-passenger Oasis of the Seas as the best thing to hit the high seas in 2009, followed by her AquaTheatre in second place. The AquaTheatre is a pool by day and water-themed amphitheatre by night, featuring high-diving shows.
The survey also revealed some interesting trends on cruise pricing. The 135 US cruise holiday travel agents surveyed said that across the board, cruise pricing has fallen dramatically, to levels not seen for the past 20 years. Departing the US for example, cruise prices to the Mediterranean are down $28 (€20) per day, per person, for a 12-day cruise, leading to $336 (€246) in savings per person compared to 2009.
Consumers are waiting until the last possible moment to book, says Cruise Holidays, with over a third booking their cruise from one to three months ahead of departure. Only six percent booked short notice (less than a month) cruises, whilst 20 percent preferred to book in the four-to-eight month window.
Mobile-world-congress-Phone-giants-including-Orange-O2-band-Apple-apps-store
Mobile phone giants including Orange, O2 and Vodafone have joined together in an attempt to take on Apple's app store.
The alliance, made up of 24 leading phone operators, will pool their resources to build an open platform that will deliver applications across their range of handsets.
The project, which is also supported by the device makers Samsung and Sony Ericsson, was announced at the Mobile World Congress today.
They hope it will help them challenge the might of the Apple App store, which has more than 130,000 third-party applications from cookery tips to zombie games.
The service has generated more than three billion downloads since 2008, with 70 per cent of revenue going to the app seller and 30 per cent going to Apple.
Many of the mobile phone networks do not think they can compete for app developers since Google and Microsoft have followed Apple's lead with their own exclusive platforms.
Google's Android Marketplace has 10,000 applications, while Microsoft is trying to break into the lucrative business with an app store on its latest Windows Mobile 7.
The consortium, who have three billion customers between them, also hope to stem a consumer backlash against having to pay for apps again if they swap devices.
A spokesman from the mobile's industry trade body the GSM Association said: 'The Wholesale Applications Community aims to unite a fragmented marketplace and create an open industry platform that benefits everybody - from application developers and network operators to mobile phone users themselves.'
It will also save app developers from having to rewrite their app for different devices.
The platform will reach the consortium's three billion phone customers.
The alliance, made up of 24 leading phone operators, will pool their resources to build an open platform that will deliver applications across their range of handsets.
The project, which is also supported by the device makers Samsung and Sony Ericsson, was announced at the Mobile World Congress today.
The Apple apps store has more than 130,000 applications, far more than any other phone operator
The service has generated more than three billion downloads since 2008, with 70 per cent of revenue going to the app seller and 30 per cent going to Apple.
Many of the mobile phone networks do not think they can compete for app developers since Google and Microsoft have followed Apple's lead with their own exclusive platforms.
Google's Android Marketplace has 10,000 applications, while Microsoft is trying to break into the lucrative business with an app store on its latest Windows Mobile 7.
The consortium, who have three billion customers between them, also hope to stem a consumer backlash against having to pay for apps again if they swap devices.
A spokesman from the mobile's industry trade body the GSM Association said: 'The Wholesale Applications Community aims to unite a fragmented marketplace and create an open industry platform that benefits everybody - from application developers and network operators to mobile phone users themselves.'
It will also save app developers from having to rewrite their app for different devices.
The platform will reach the consortium's three billion phone customers.
Vodafone launch 'world's cheapest phone'
Mobile phone operator Vodafone has launched what it says is the "lowest-cost mobile phone on Earth". The Vodafone 150, unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, will sell for "below $15" (£10) and is aimed at the developing world. It will initially be launched in India, Turkey and eight African countries including Lesotho, Kenya and Ghana. The UN predicts that mobile ownership will reach 5bn in 2010, with most growth in the developing world. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) said that demand was being driven by people using their phones to access banking and mobile health services, the ITU said. "Even the simplest, low-end mobile phone can do so much to improve healthcare in the developing world," said ITU secretary general Dr Hamadoun Toure. For example, he said, SMS can be used to "deliver instructions on when and how to take complex medication such as anti-retrovirals or vaccines". "It's such a simple thing to do, and yet it saves millions of dollars," he said. Mobile phones have also become an increasingly popular way to transfer and save money in the developing world. For example, a system known as M-Pesa in Kenya, which allows people to transfer money, now has around six million customers. Vodafone estimates that there are more than 11 million customers using banking services on its networks. The Vodafone 150 is designed to bring these services to more people, the firm said. The handset allows voice calls, SMS and has built-in support for mobile payment services. A more expensive version - known as the Vodafone 250 - also has a colour screen and an FM radio, and will sell for $20. Ken Banks, founder of Frontline SMS and an expert in mobile phone use in the developing world said the $15 price tag "lowers the bar, but not by a huge amount". "I bought a HTC mobile in Uganda two years ago for just over $20 equivalent, so depending on how you play exchange rates this isn't hugely different price wise," he told BBC News. "The price has come down but in terms of features [cheap phones have] remained largely static with poor memory, monochrome screens, no browser, and so on. "The trick is to reduce the price and increase functionality, and few manufacturers have managed to crack this to any real extent," he told BBC News. | |
Maruti Kizashi To Hit Indian Roads Soon
Maruti Kizashi To Hit Indian Roads Soon
The new name of luxury, sports car Kizashi is soon going to hit Indian roads. ‘Maruti Suzuki India’ is planning to launch this new car in Indian market with Japanese car maker Suzuki.
This luxury car was first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2007.
Maruti Kizashi is expected to be priced at Rs. 10-13 lakh. The car is designed with the finest features and the noted technologies. The manual transmission for the car is six-speed. Other noted feature is its optional automatic one-based CVT technology accompanied with paddle shift. It has an engine of capacity 2.4 litre Euro IV. The car has already been introduced in US and will be there soon for the Indian customers.
Eurofighter Typhoon Heads to India for MMRCA Evaluation
11:04 GMT, February 15, 2010 defpro.com | Coinciding with the starting signal for India’s largest defence exhibition, DEFEXPO 2010 (15-18 February 2010), a German Air Force Eurofighter fighter aircraft will be heading to India today. However, this aircraft will not be making acrobatic manoeuvres for the visitors of the show but, rather, will be thoroughly examined by the Indian Air Force (IAF) as part of the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) MMRCA programme. The Eurofighter will join India’s ongoing programme, which has been initiated in August 2007 and is currently in the process of testing all participating contenders, to undergo trials until March in Bengaluru as well as in Jaisalmer and Leh. The two latter stations will demonstrate the Eurofighter’s desert and high altitude performance.
As 8ak.in recently reported, the prospects for a success of Eurofighter in India still are difficult to judge, as the European consortium is receiving mixed signals from Indian officials. While there is general consent that the performance of the aircraft is up to the expectations, the pricing reportedly is an issue. Reuters news agency quoted India’s Ambassador, Arif Shahid Khan, saying Eurofighter Typhoon is leading the race to win the new fighter deal with the Indian Air Force. The Ambassador stressed the top position held by Eurofighter Typhoon during a meeting in late January with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Rome.
However, a technical triumph of the Eurofighter in the evaluation phase would not automatically mean that the Eurofighter consortium will be awarded the contract for the 126 required aircraft, worth an estimated 10.4 billion. As 8ak.in explains, EADS (holding 46% in the four-nation Eurofighter consortium) has already had bad experiences with Indian procurement procedures in the past. Despite the IAF’s full approval of the procurement of Airbus tanker aircraft, the Indian finance ministry brought these plans to a sudden end, saying it would be too expensive.
The Eurofighter is competing against Dassault’s Rafale, Saab’s JAS 39 Super Gripen IN, Boeing’s F/A-18E/F-IN Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin’s F-16IL and Russia’s MiG-35. According to the Eurofighter Press Office Blog, the Eurofighter Typhoon offers a broad spectrum of operational advantages to India, such as its adaptability to severe weather conditions, high mission effectiveness and survivability in threat situations as well as considerable in country economic benefits.
Bernhard Gerwert, chairman of the supervisory board of Eurofighter GmbH and CEO of Military Air Systems, a business unit of EADS Defence & Security (DS) said: “We are well positioned in the ongoing tender [...] because the Eurofighter Typhoon is the ideal answer to the threats that India faces.” He added “The aircraft's outstanding operational performance, coupled with low life-cycle costs and a tailor-made industrial partnership offer, make the Eurofighter Typhoon a key contender in India's competition.”
Eurofighter will attempt to demonstrate the aircraft’s claimed advantages at the DEFEXPO show, where its stand will showcase a Eurofighter simulator. A success in the Indian fighter race would be a bonanza for the consortium which is searching for additional export customers since quite a while. Enzo Casolini, CEO of Eurofighter GmbH, told the Indo-Asian News Service: “We evaluate the global demand for combat aircraft in the next 20 years at around 800 units. For Eurofighter Typhoon, we target 300 additional export contracts, with Asia representing a substantial part of these orders.”
So far, the only export successes for the Eurofighter have been Austria and Saudi Arabia. While the Austrian procurement programme suffered from a controversial political and financial debate, resulting in the procurement of only 15 aircraft, the Saudi Kingdom ordered a total of 72 aircraft in late 2007.
As 8ak.in points out, the engine question (always being one of the most prominent field of interest in a fighter aircraft programme) may further support Eurofighter’s position in the MMRCA race. EUROJET Turbo GmbH is not only providing the engine for the Eurofighter but is, furthermore, interested in extending its industrial presence in India (see http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/502/). EUROJET recently announced that, if required, they are willing to transfer their single crystal turbine blade technology to India. According to company sources, the technology transfer is currently not under the scope of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) engine request for proposal (RfP). However, the news service states “it makes commercial sense for India to choose the same engine for the MMRCA that they would choose to power the Tejas.”
U.S. Marines say make steady progress in Afghan assault
The assault is the first test of U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to send 30,000 more troops to seize insurgent-held areas ahead of a planned 2011 troop drawdown.
"We are making steady progress but being very methodical about detecting and clearing routes in an area heavily saturated with IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices)," Marine Capt. Abraham Sipe told Reuters in response to an email, adding counts of militants killed of captured would not be provided.
Afghan officials said on Sunday that as many as 35 militants had been killed in the first two days of the offensive.
"In many parts of Marjah, we have seen very little opposition. There are areas where Marines have met with stiff resistance, but they are making steady progress throughout the area," Sipe said.
Afghan officials said there had been some fighting.
"There was fighting last night and some sporadic clashes are still going on in Marjah. The enemy has suffered casualties," said Ghulam Mahaiuddin Ghori, a senior Afghan army general in Helmand.
EARLY PROGRESS
Much of the success of the operation in Helmand province depends on whether the new administration wins the trust of the local population and Afghan troops must be effective enough to keep the Taliban from returning.
NATO and the Afghan government's credibility rests on limiting civilian casualties, especially since NATO commanders told Marjah residents to stay home during the offensive which could last weeks.
Highlighting the dangers of fighting a resilient and unpredictable enemy, Helmand Province Governor Gulab Mangal said three would-be suicide bombers were gunned down on Sunday while trying to blow themselves up among troops.
"The situation moment by moment is going the way the government had expected. The forces are extending their advances from points they have captured and the operation is going on successfully," he told a news conference.
NATO rockets killed 12 Afghan civilians on Sunday on the second day of an offensive designed to impose Afghan authority on one of the last big Taliban strongholds in the country's most violent province.
The offensive has been flagged for weeks to persuade Taliban fighters to leave so the area can be recaptured with minimal damage or loss of civilian life, in the hope that the roughly 100,000 people there will welcome the Afghan administration.
U.S. commanders are under pressure to deliver results on the battlefield in time for the start of the troop drawdown due in 2011.
Marjah has long been a breeding ground for insurgents and lucrative opium poppy cultivation, which Western countries say funds the insurgency.
The United States' top military officer on Sunday said the assault on Marjah had got "off to a good start".
"It's actually very difficult to predict (the end)," Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during a visit to Israel. "We have from a planning standpoint talked about a few weeks, but I don't know that."
The attack started on Saturday with waves of helicopters ferrying troops into Marjah and the nearby Nad Ali district. The next day, U.S. Marines came under intense fir
Pakistani foreign investment falls 34.4 pct
Out of total foreign investment, foreign direct investment fell 54.6 percent to $1.17 billion in the July to January period, from $2.59 billion the previous year, the State Bank of Pakistan said.
But foreign portfolio investment flows reversed, with a $290.7 million inflow in the first seven months of this fiscal year compared with an outflow of $355.8 million in the same period of the last fiscal year.
Authorities imposed a floor on the Karachi Stock Exchange benchmark index in August 2008 as political uncertainty and economic and security worries drained investor confidence.
The floor discouraged new investment and also led to a sharp outflow of funds, as foreign investors sold holdings in off-market trade.
The floor was removed in December 2008.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) saved Pakistan from a balance of payments crisis with a $7.6 billion emergency loan package in November 2008.
The loan was increased to $11.3 billion on July 31 last year.
Afridi should be kicked out of national team: senators
“If he (Afridi) bites the ball like an apple there’s lots of problems behind it.”
Afridi was banned for two Twenty20 games for biting the ball during the final one-day international against Australia
At a meeting of a parlimentary sports committee on Monday, Senator Tariq Azeem told Pakistan Cricket Board officials that Afridi had besmirched the country’s reputation and should be further punished.
“If he (Afridi) bites the ball like an apple there’s lots of problems behind it,” Senator Haroon Akhtar told PCB chairman Ijaz Butt during a meeting of Upper House committee on Sports.
“If you don’t take action this will happen again. The team lacks discipline and you got to rectify the problem.”
Afridi missed one Twenty20 international against Australia , and wil be out for the first encounter against England on Feb. 20 at Dubai
However Butt told the committee that it cannot punish Afridi, in accordance with International Cricket Council standards.
“The ICC has told us clearly that you can’t punish a player twice for one offense,” Butt said.
“Their lawyer has also suggested us that if we handed more punishment to Afridi and he challenges it in court, it will run the PCB into trouble.”
However, Senator Tariq Azeem contended that selecting a player was the discretion of the PCB.
“The ICC can’t question you if you don’t pick him up in the national team,” Azeem said.
“You (Butt) should not compromise the integrity of the nation. No player is indispensable. We should tell the world that we are not cheaters and we know how to deal with indisciplined players.”
Meanwhile, Butt told the committee that the PCB is in for a windfall if it can organize two test series against India
“If we play two series against India
However, Azeem strongly objected to any plans to play India , after Pakistan
Pak govt moves to avert showdown with judiciary
Lawyers organised rallies and protests in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and cities across the country today to protest the judicial appointments made by the president without consulting chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
The Supreme Court had on Saturday struck down two judicial appointments made by Zardari that went against the recommendations of the fiercely independent chief justice.
The apex court's move triggered fears that the PPP and the judiciary could be headed for a showdown that could destabilise the government.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has launched efforts to distance himself from the appointments made by Zardari, with members of his camp telling the media that his advice on the issue was not considered by the presidency.
Sources told PTI that Gilani's camp had even sent feelers in this regard to the judiciary. During a meeting yesterday with chief justice Chaudhry, attorney general Anwar Mansoor delivered a message from the premier that the government respected the Supreme Court's order quashing the judicial appointments and did not want any confrontation between institutions, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Mansoor also reportedly told the chief justice that Gilani was in consultation with the President on the issue and the government's point of view will be submitted before the apex court when the matter is taken up again on February 18.
Gilani too appeared conciliatory, telling reporters during an interaction near Rawalpindi yesterday that his government would implement whatever decision is made by the apex court about the appointment of judges. He suggested that any government could make a mistake and said the court's verdict would be the deciding factor.
In Lahore, judges did not hear most cases at the request of the local bar association. Only a handful of urgent cases were heard in the judges' chambers. A strike by the lawyers paralysed the working of
courts across the four provinces of Pakistan.
Supreme Court Bar Association president Kazi Anwar said the strike was called to express solidarity with the judiciary and to protest the President's orders. Following peaceful rallies in Rawalpindi and
Islamabad, lawyers gathered near the Supreme Court and staged protests outside Parliament and theprime minister's secretariat.
The lawyers shouted slogans against Zardari and law minister Babar Awan, one of the President's closest confidants who is believed to have played a key role in the decision on the judicial appointments.
The protests were reminiscent of the movement organised by lawyers after former military ruler Pervez Musharraf removed chief justice Chaudhry in 2007. The prime minister has said the decision on the judicial appointments was made after consulting constitutional and legal experts.
"The decisions sometimes hit the mark and sometimes they go wrong but there is no wrong that has no remedy," he said.
Legal experts have said the current imbroglio centres round the interpretation of Article 177 of Pakistan’s constitution, which states that the apex court chief justice will be appointed by the president and "each of the other judges shall be appointed by the president after consultation with the chief justice".
Some experts have said that the president has to consult the chief justice but the latter's advice is not binding.
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