Thursday, 2 January 2014

Without pace, no end to India's away worries

1/02/2014 10:05:00 am CRICKET No comments

Without pace, no end to India's away worries

India have had just three top class pacemen — Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan – who served the country for a reasonable period of time. (AP Photo)

India will continue to struggle against top Test teams away from home if they cannot shore up their bowling resources. The old dictum that bowlers win you matches holds as true today as it did in old times when it was coined.

You need to take 20 wickets to win a Test and against quality sides, this takes some doing, especially on foreign conditions. This foreign-condition factor becomes more obvious in case of teams like India who traditionally rely on spin to win matches.

So, while India have an excellent record at home in the last 20 years or so - when they began beating top sides at home regularly, eventually attaining the top rank in ICC Test rankings - their overseas record, while improving, remains very average. There is a considerable gap between India's home and away records, primarily because of the dearth of world class pace attack.

In most Test-playing countries outside the subcontinent, conditions are such that a team needs a formidable pace line-up for sustained success. India have had just three top class pacemen — Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan - who served the country for a reasonable period of time.

These men, as also some other talented pacers who fell away after fleeting encounter with glory (Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth...) contributed to some memorable triumphs for the team both at home and outside. But these men mostly had to ply their trade alone, without quality pace support from the other end. In Test match cricket, bowlers hunt in packs, working with each other to out-think, out-duel or simply smother batting units. The attack may have a spearhead, a bowler of outstandingquality, but even he needs good, consistent support from two-three other men to maximize his returns.

Indian bowlers: Test record during the last ten years
		Matches	Wickets	Average	5WI	10WM	SR
Harbhajan	Home	37	169	31.85	9	2	68.5
	Away	28	93	39.66	5	1	75.8

Kumble	Home	22	115	30.57	9	3	66.2
	Away	30	134	32.13	4	1	58.9

Zaheer	Home	29	81	36.29	3	-	72.2
	Away	33	139	29.33	4	-	50.8

Ishant	Home	22	62	33.46	1	-	66.4
	Away	31	87	42.63	2	1	72.0

Ashwin	Home	15	95	24.12	9	2	51.1
	Away	4	9	74.77	-	-	140.0

Ojha	Home	20	101	27.51	7	1	63.5
	Away	4	12	53.41	-	-	101.0

A look at the greatest teams over the years tells us that their domination was to a large extent fuelled by deadly bowling units. It's not that they could have become world beaters without having great batsmen in the mix, but ultimately, those 20 wickets have to be taken.

Don Bradman's 'Invincibles' during the 1930-40s had the peerless batsman himself leading from the front. But he would certainly have struggled to win the aura of invincibility if he did not have the services of great bowlers like Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller, Bill O'Reilly and Bill Johnston at different points during his captaincy.

The all-conquering West Indian side of 1970-80s was probably the most feared teams in Test history. They also had a stellar batting line-up led by Viv Richards. But it was their fast bowling pack which sent shivers down the spine of terrified rivals who often lost the battle even before the toss. Who can forget the awesome sight of Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Joel Garner,Andy Roberts and Colin Croft tearing down the runway and hurrying off the pitch as batting reputations nose-dived, shaken and shattered. These legends were potent in all countries, including India.

Coming to Australia's domination of world cricket in the Steve Waugh-Ricky Ponting era, two men, who made the most critical contribution to the cause were Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. They were supported by the likes of Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee, two thoroughbred fast bowlers. These four formed a very incisive bowling unit, troubling batsmen wherever they played.

South Africa, currently the top Test team in the world, owe much of their stupendous success to their pace attack led by the fiery Dale Steyn who has had great support from Morne Morkel,Jacques Kallis and, lately, Vernon Philander.

Australia's remarkable Ashes turnaround in the last few weeks has also been made possible by the pace and bounce of Mitchell Johnson who has been well supported by Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris.

At various other times, bowling duos have sparkled for their teams. Dennis Lillee-Jeff Thomson for Australia, Wasim Akram-Waqar Younis for Pakistan, Courtney Walsh-Curtly Ambrose for West Indies, Freddie Trueman-Brian Statham for England have stamped their mark on the game.

The point to be noted here is that most of these bowlers are fast bowlers. India, sadly, just do not have the firepower. Zaheer Khan is lacking in bite, Ishant Sharma, inconsistency personified, would not have got to play 50-plus Tests in any other leading Test nation, Md Shami is raw and untested while Bhuvneshwar Kumar does not have the pace and will be ineffective if the ball is not moving around. Other men on the fringes do not inspire much confidence.

Clearly, if India have to challenge the best in their conditions, they have to somehow develop a potent pace attack. How it can be done is for the BCCI to ponder. But what we have now is not going to answer the call
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New year wishes !!!!

12/31/2013 11:18:00 pm GENERAL No comments

You are a dreamer,

And you are an achiever.

May you dream and achieve bigger feats,

With every passing year.

All the best for the New Year.

Happy new year friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Purported Nokia Moneypenny screenshot reveals single SIM variant, 4G support

12/31/2013 02:29:00 pm TECHNOLOGY No comments

Purported Nokia Moneypenny screenshot reveals single SIM variant, 4G support

Nokia's alleged Moneypenny Windows Phone is said to come in single SIM and dual-SIM variants, if a new leaked screenshot is to be believed.

The phone tipster, @evleaks, has posted a new purported screenshot that claims to reveal the Start screen of the alleged Nokia Moneypennny, a codename linked to the James Bond movies. The leaked screenshot shows the alleged Nokia Moneypenny supporting single SIM and also supporting 4G networks.

The tweet by @evleaks reads, "Moneypenny (635 flavor). " The tweet suggests that the alleged Nokia Moneypenny might come in two SIM variants - single and dual. We assume that the dual-SIM variant of the alleged Moneypenny might be targeted at emerging markets like India.

In addition, the rumoured Nokia Moneypenny seems to be finally confirmed as the Nokia Lumia 635, if the new tweet by @evleaks is to be believed. Earlier, we reported that considering Nokia's device naming nomenclature, we expect that Nokia might place the alleged Moneypenny in its third generation of Lumia line-up and call it the Lumia 635.

Further the leaked screenshot also shows Live Tiles on the Moneypenny's Start screen for Nokia MixRadio, HERE Maps, Internet Explorer, Photos, SkyDrive, Microsoft Office, Instagram, Asphalt 8, Vine and Vimeo app for Windows Phone.

Much like previous leaked screenshot, this one too shows on-screen navigation control buttons for back, Start and Bing search, which till now have been a part of capacitive touch buttons. If the leaked screenshot turns out to be true, Microsoft can be expected to get rid of capacitive buttons on the Windows Phone devices, and replace them with on-screen navigation controls.

An earlier leak by @evleaks had suggested that the first dual-SIM Windows Phone might be the alleged Moneypenny.

Previous reports have already revealed that Nokia's upcoming Moneypenny might be one of the first Lumia devices to run the revamped Windows Phone 8.1 operating system, codenamed 'Blue'.

Coming in 2014: Extremely smart watches and wearable TVs

12/31/2013 02:28:00 pm TECHNOLOGY No comments

Coming in 2014: Extremely smart watches and wearable TVs

For technological innovation, 2013 was a remarkably boring year. Apple, often the hotbed of "new," mostly just updated familiar devices in different colors and with crisper screens. Social media companies fought over who had better photo filters. And Silicon Valley startups offered more of less, with slight iterations on existing products.

But 2014 has a lot of promise.

Predicting the future is a lot more difficult than evaluating the past, but you could wake up on Jan. 1, 2015, in a different digital winter wonderland.

No, you won't lie in bed while your humanoid robot helper makes you bacon and eggs and walks the dog - which is also possibly a robot made by Google. That's more of a 2035 prediction. But you might wake up to the call of a watch on your wrist - not your cellphone on your night table. This year we've seen some efforts at smartwatches, like those made by Pebble; next year, these gadgets could look a lot better.

(Also see: Pebble adds iOS 7 notifications; smartwatch now shipping globally for $150)

"Smartwatches, which connect to your smartphone, are going to create an entirely new category of computing in the coming year," said Sarah Rotman Epps, a former Forrester analyst who specializes in wearable computing. She noted that the long-awaited Apple smartwatch, which is expected to be announced in 2014, could change the way we engage with our wrist in the same way Apple changed the cellphone industry in 2007.

(Also see: Apple's iWatch coming in 2014, to be made in Taiwan)

Smartwatches will allow us to peer at messages without having to pull cellphones out of our pockets or purses. They will make it easier to monitor our health with heartbeat and movement sensors, recording daily how much we have exercised, or how much we haven't.

According to Citigroup, the global watch industry generated $60 billion in sales in 2013. Numerous research estimates expect the smartwatch industry to generate billions more in revenue for consumer tech companies in 2014.

Your cellphone next year will look almost exactly the same as the one in your pocket today - though slightly larger and a little slimmer. But the software on it will be a bit smarter because of improved location sensors. Rather than your having to look at your phone all the time, your phone will start letting you know when you need to look.

Foursquare, the location-based social network, is at the forefront of this innovation. Its app works in the background to corral different pieces of information - including your location, the time of day and where your friends have been - and then makes suggestions for what to do. "It looks like you're near the Sightglass Coffee," the company's app says if I walk by a coffee shop in the morning, "Your friend Dennis has been there and recommends the cappuccino."

Now imagine all your apps start doing this? Twitter could tell you when a news event happens near your house. Facebook could let you know if your friends are saying "congratulations" to someone's specific post - and you should too. Your phone automatically could keep emails, texts and phone calls at bay while you're sitting down for dinner with the family, all by sensing that your spouse and children's phones are in the dining room at the same time in the evening.

Smartphones are also expected to get other kinds of unusual sensors next year. Benedetto Vigna, a general manager at STMicroelectronics, a company that creates sensors for mobile devices, said 2014 would be when we would start to see mood-detecting sensors in phones. Imagine playing a video game that determines your excitement level and adjusts the experience accordingly, he said.

What about the home?

Until now, television screens have been pretty standard sizes and shapes: rectangular. While that won't change in 2014, we will probably see prototypes of something different.

"We've been working on flexible displays for more than a decade, and this past year we finally came up with solutions," Peter Bocko, the chief technology officer for Corning Glass Technologies, said earlier this year. This means screens could wrap around clothing we wear or the packages we buy.

In our homes, this flexible technology could translate into wallpaperlike screens that can be stuck to a wall.

But don't be alarmed if you sit down to enjoy a nice cup of tea in front of your new flexible display and hear a buzzing sound outside: That's probably your neighbor's drone inspecting the back garden to see if his grass is greener than yours.

Till now, drones have been mostly used by hobbyists and photographers, but the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to issue rules for expanded commercial drone use next month.

(Also see: Amazon drone delivery vision faces legislative, technological hurdles to fruition)

Jonathan Downey, the chief executive of Airware, which makes drones, said we will then start to see people use these vehicles for agriculture and farming or to reach places that are dangerous for human workers today. Rooftop inspection, for example, could be done with high-resolution thermal imaging sensors attached to a drone.

Downey predicted that any privacy concerns about drones would abate.

"When GPS first came out from the government, people saw it as something that could track them, and they said absolutely not," Downey said. Yet now, we all have GPS in our cars and smartphones. "I think we'll see something very similar happen with drones."

This year we did see the improvement of 3-D printers that can make physical objects from digital files. In 2014, we could start to see these devices become a fixture in our homes, just as inkjet printers became a norm in the late 1980s.

According to Gartner, the research firm, consumers and companies will spend more than $600 million on 3-D printer-related products in 2014.

(Also see: Most promising 3D printing applications)

What will you use these for? Maybe you'll make your own iPhone covers rather than buy them from stores, print out new salt and pepper shakers or download a pattern and print a new part for your drone.

And who knows, if you do get a 3-D printer next year, maybe you could start downloading the parts for your very own humanoid robot helper that can make your breakfast and walk your dog in 2015.

Lava Iris 354e with dual-core processor, Android 4.2 listed online at Rs. 3,415

12/31/2013 02:27:00 pm TECHNOLOGY No comments

Lava Iris 354e with dual-core processor, Android 4.2 listed online at Rs. 3,415

Lava Mobiles' new budget smartphone, the Iris 354e, is now listed at an online retailer for Rs. 3,415. As of now, the smartphone is out-of-stock at the e-commerce website, and offers a 'Notify Me' option to consumers. The company is yet to unveil the Iris 354e for the Indian market.

The Lava Iris 354e runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) device, with support for dual standby. It features a 3.5-inch HVGA (320x480 pixels) display. The Iris 354e is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor (unspecified chipset), along with 256MB of RAM.

It sports a 2-megapixel fixed-focus rear camera with no flash, and includes a VGA front-facing camera. The Lava Iris 354e comes with 2GB of inbuilt storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB with the help of a microSD card. It packs a 1400mAh battery which, as per the online retailer's listing, can deliver up to 6 hours of talktime and up to 400 hours standby time.

Connectivity options on the smartphone include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS, EDGE, GPS/ AGPS and Micro-USB. Notably, the Lava Iris 354e does not support 3G network.

The Iris 354e measures 118x61x11.8mm and weighs about 103 grams. The Lava Iris 354e is listed atFlipkart.

Recently, Lava launched the 3G 402+, successor to the 3G 402 budget smartphone at Rs. 6,499.

The Lava 3G 402+ is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) device, much like its predecessor, and runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out-of-the-box. It sports a 4.0-inch WVGA display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels.

The 3G 402+ is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor (unspecified chipset) coupled with 512MB of RAM. It sports a 3-megapixel rear camera with flash, while it also houses a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. It comes with 4GB inbuilt storage which is further expandable up to 32GB via microSD card.

Connectivity options on the Lava 3G 402+ include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/AGPS, GPRS, EDGE and 3G. The Lava 3G 402+ budget smartphone will be available in Metallic Grey, Metallic Brown, and Ivory White colour variants.

Mobiles launched in December 2013

Lava Iris 354e

KEY SPECS

Display

3.50-inch

Processor

1GHz

Front Camera

0.3-megapixel

Resolution

320x480 pixels

RAM

256MB

OS

Android 4.2

Storage

1.25GB

Rear Camera

2-megapixel

Battery capacity

1400mAh

See full Lava Iris 354e specifications

Vodafone gets FIPB approval to raise stake in Indian venture to 100 percent

12/31/2013 02:25:00 pm TECHNOLOGY No comments

Vodafone gets FIPB approval to raise stake in Indian venture to 100 percent

UK-based telecom player Vodafone's Rs. 10,000 crores proposal to buyout minority shareholders in its Indian arm was approved on Monday by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

Vodafone's Rs. 10,141 crores Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) proposal has been cleared, sources said after the meeting of FIPB in New Delhi.

(Also see: FIBP to decide on Vodafone, SingTel FDI proposals on Monday)

The telecom major, which holds a 64.38 percent stake in the Indian unit, will buy the remaining outstanding shares from minority shareholders like Ajay Piramal and Analjit Singh.

Piramal holds an 10.97 percent stake in India's second-largest telecom company by subscribers, while Singh, who is Vodafone India's non-executive chairman, holds 24.65 percent.

Vodafone Group Plc will pay Analjit Singh Rs. 1,241 crores and Piramal Enterprises Rs. 8,900 crores for their stakes in Vodafone India as part of a proposal.

CGP India Investments Ltd, an indirect Mauritian subsidiary of Vodafone International Holdings BV, had sought FIPB approval to buy the stake held by minority shareholders in Vodafone India Ltd.

The decision on the Vodafone application was deferred at the previous meeting as comments from the Ministry of Home Affairs were awaited.

Sony Xperia Z1s spotted in the wild with rear panel identical to Xperia Z1

12/31/2013 02:24:00 pm TECHNOLOGY No comments

Sony Xperia Z1s spotted in the wild with rear panel identical to Xperia Z1

Sony's long-rumoured Xperia Z1s, believed to be the upcoming international variant of the Xperia Z1 fand the mini-variant of the Xperia Z1, has been spotted in a leaked image.

The latest leaked image was first spotted by Xperia Guide on Chinese Digi-Wo forum. The new leaked image shows the rear panel of the alleged Xperia Z1s in black. The back panel includes the rear camera accompanied by an LED flash, Sony logo branding in the middle and also an Xperia branding embedded at the bottom. The purported leaked image of the Xperia Z1s shows a rear panel that is identical to the flagship smartphone's (Xperia Z1) rear panel.

The yet-to-be-announced Sony Xperia Z1s has made multiple appearances on the Internet previously via leaked renders but this is the first time the device's rear panel has been leaked.

Earlier this month, the rumoured Sony Xperia Z1s was spotted at the FCC under another name.

The FCC listing showed the alleged Xperia Z1s with model number Sony D5503, and notably, a codename: 'Amami'. Further, the FCC listing shows the alleged Xperia Z1s running few Android versions, with build numbers 14.2.A.0.144 and 14.2.A.0.78, which hinted that the device would be based on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and not Android 4.4 KitKat.

The yet-to-be-announced Sony Xperia Z1s is rumoured to come with a 4.3-inch Triluminos HD (720x1280) display with X-Reality for Mobiles; a 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm MSM8974 processor; 2GB of RAM; 16GB of inbuilt storage that's further expandable up to 64GB via microSD card, and a 2300mAh battery with STAMINA mode. Further, the Xperia Z1s believed to be much like the Xperia Z1 f and Xperia Z1 in terms of optics, sporting the same 20.7-megapixel Exmor RS sensor alongside the BIONZ image processor engine and pulsed LED flash. In addition, like other Xperia Z smartphones, the Xperia Z1s is said to be waterproof and dust-proof.

New Year's Eve 2013 marked by an animated Google doodle

12/31/2013 02:22:00 pm TECHNOLOGY No comments

New Year's Eve 2013 marked by an animated Google doodle

New Year's Eve 2013 has inspired the last doodle of the year. Upon hovering the mouse over this animated doodle, the text Happy New Year! is displayed.

Tuesday's doodle features numbers 2, 0, 1, and 3 on the dance floor with the number 4 waiting along the sides, waiting for its turn to replace 3. The dance floor is made up of little squares that are changing colours, designed to represent the floor lights in various colours. The word Google is seen sandwiched between two speakers, with the second O replaced by a disco ball.

Also present on the Google home page is the text "What did the world search for this year? Remember the moments of 2013", with a link to the Google Zeitgeist 2013. This has of course been seen for a while, and is not a new addition.

Though the latest Google doodle looks interactive, we tried various browsers and we couldn't get the doodle to do anything except show Google search results for New Year's Eve 2013. The first result is a Google search card that says, "Tuesday, December 31 New Year's Eve 2013", similar to what you get while searching for other important days like Diwali 2013 on Google India, or Memorial Day 2013 on the Google US homepage.

The rest of the page looks like any other Google results page, with news, image and search results for the query New Year's Eve 2013. Many search results refer to fireworks planned on New Year's Eve 2013. Interestingly, New Year's Eve 2016 comes as a related search for the phrase, which has us wondering - who starts their party planning three years early?

NDTV Gadgets would like to wish its readers a safe New Year's Eve 2013 and a Happy New Year.

For more Google doodles, visit this page.

Micromax Bolt A28 and Bolt A59 budget Android smartphones listed online

12/31/2013 02:20:00 pm TECHNOLOGY No comments

Micromax Bolt A28 and Bolt A59 budget Android smartphones listed online

Two new Micromax budget Android smartphones, dubbed Bolt A28 and Bolt A59, have been listed at an online retailer. Unfortunately, there is no word on the pricing of both the smartphones, which are listed with a 'Notify Me' option for consumers.

The Micromax Bolt A28 runs dated Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and is a dual-SIM device with support for GSM+GSM and dual standby. It features a 3.5-inch display with 320x480 pixels resolution. The budget smartphone is powered by a 1GHz Cortex A5 processor (unspecified chipset) along with a Mali 300 GPU and 1GB of RAM. Notably, the e-commerce website reveals that the Bolt A28 sports two 0.3-megapixel cameras, one at the front and another at the back (with LED flash).

It comes with 512MB of inbuilt storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB with the help of a microSD card. The Micromax Bolt A28 packs a 1500mAh battery, which as per the Flipkart's listing, can deliver up to 4 hours of talktime and up to 260 hours of standby time.

Connectivity options on the Micromax Bolt A28 include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS, EDGE, GPS/ AGPS and Micro-USB. The Bolt A28 does not support 3G networks. It measures 116.9x62.5x12.5mm and weighs about 89 grams.

On the other hand, the Micromax Bolt A59 runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out-of-the-box. The Micromax's new budget Android smartphone is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) device with dual standby support. It comes with a 3.5-inch display with 320x480 pixels resolution, and is powered by a 1GHz Spreadtrum SC7710 processor along with a Mali 300 GPU and 256MB of RAM.

It includes 4GB of inbuilt storage, which is further expandable up to 16GB via microSD card. The Micromax Bolt A59 sports a 2-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and also includes a VGA front-facing camera. The device packs a 1500mAh battery that the listing claims can give a standby time of up to 160 hours, and up to 4 hours of talktime.

Connectivity options on the Micromax Bolt A59 include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Micro-USB, GPRS, EDGE and 3G. The smartphone also comes preloaded with apps such as Hike, Opera, Spuul, Game HUB, Kingsoft Office and M! Live.

The yet-to-be-announced Micromax Bolt A28 and Bolt A59 will join the Bolt series of smartphones which includes the Micromax Bolt A26, Bolt A34, Bolt A35, Bolt A40, Bolt A51, Bolt A58 and Bolt A61.

Mobiles launched in December 2013