07.08.2007

• Delhi’s land scam kingpin
• One Mr. Ashok Malhotra is accused by the CBI of a scam involving illegal allotment of plots in Dhirpur under a 2000-2002 resettlement scheme of the DDA for Hudson Lane Jhuggi Jhopri area.
• He was arrested by the CBI while he was giving his side of the story to a television channel.
• I had to note this for us, because of the political storm that is razing about this individual. Let’s stay tuned to the developments on this front.
• What is sideloading? This is in mobile arena.
• Mobiles come with a USB (Universal Service Bus) port. This is usually given for loading software and other content on to the mobile. They also come with Bluetooth technology enabled in them. Both these are now seen as hitting the mobile VAS (Value Added Service) offerings of the mobile service providers.
• The process of loading games, software or other content directly from other devices using these two and bypassing the service offerings of the mobile service provider is referred to as ‘sideloading.’
• Mobile VAS industry in India is estimated to be about Rs. 2,850 crores in 2006 and expected to touch about Rs. 4,560 crores in 2007.
• What does ESO (Engineering Services Outsouring) market encompass?
• Semiconductors, telecom, industrial automation, medical devices, computer systems, automotive, aerospace and utilities.
• It is a space which is offering about a $2.5 bn opportunity now. It is expected to touch $30 bn by 2020.
• Edinburg Fringe Festival
• It is one of the world’s largest arts events. It is known for its satirical and often eccentric close-to-the-knuckle flavour. It is the unofficial version of the Edinburgh International Festival.
• The Edinburgh International Festival presents a rich programme of classical music, theatre, opera and dance over a three-week period in late summer each year. Festival 07 runs from the 10th of August to the 2nd of September.
• Bloggers mull labour union
• On seeing this I was so interested; because you know I am an avid blogger now.
• What caught my attention more than the news content in the article was the opening sentence. It read “Do bloggers need their own Norma Rae?” This is the first time that I came across Norma Rae. Who is it? What is so special about her?
• Enter the cyberchondriac in me; and here goes our search result:
• Norma Rae is a 1979 film which tells the story of a woman from a small town in the Southern United States who becomes involved in the labor union activities at the textile factory where she works.
• It won Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Sally Field) and Best Original Song (for David Shire and Norman Gimbel for "It Goes Like It Goes").
• Nuclear energy facts
• The US has over half of the world’s installed capacity of nuclear power.
• The Three Mile Island incident: It is the worst nuclear accident ever in the US history. It happened in 1979. A partial meltdown of the reactor core occurred then. Though there was no casualty and nobody was even reported to have been hurt, it sent shivers down the spines of everybody. The cleanup took 14 years and cost nearly $1 bn. It dampened the sentiments for nuclear power and hurt investor confidence as well.
• As of today, 21% of the power is from nuclear sources for USA. Do you remember that our nuclear power share is a mere 3%? Some reports are now stating that to be just 2%!!