10 Most Important Things...!!!

• LOVE:
  The Special Feeling That Makes You Feel
  All Warm And Wonderful.
  
  
• RESPECT:
  Treating Others As Well As You Would Like To Be Treated.
  
  
• APPRECIATION:
  To Be Grateful For All The Good Things Life Has To Offer.
  
  
• HAPPINESS:
  The Full Enjoyment Of Each Moment. A Smiling Face.
  
  
• FORGIVENESS:
  The Ability To Let Things Be Without Anger.
  
  
• SHARING:
  The Joy Of Giving Without Thought Of Receiving.
  
  
• HONESTY:
  The Quality Of Always Telling The Truth.
  
  
• INTEGRITY:
  The Purity Of Doing What's Right, No Matter What.
  
  
• COMPASSION:
  The Essence Of Feeling Another's Pain, While Easing Their Hurt.
  
  
• PEACE:
  The Reward For Living The 10 Most Important Things.

Pandora for Mini Connected and SYNC AppLink now available for iPhone...!!!

The Mini Connected app finally hit the App Store back in December, enabling those with suitably equipped little German autos to connect their iPhones and iPods and do what nature intended. Well, everything nature intended except for streaming Pandora. Now that solemn right is a possibility too, with the latest version of Pandora available in iTunes. Update that, plug your iPhone into your Mini, and you can get your stream on, just like we did at CES. However, if you're more of a domestics guy or gal you don't have to feel left out, because this new version supports Ford's SYNC AppLink as well. And, yes, we had some quality hands-on time with that, too.

Apple partners BSNL to bring 3G-enabled iPads to India in 3 days.....!!!

With 3G-enabled smartphones and network coverage finally starting their gradual proliferation of the market, Apple has finally announced it will be releasing the much awaited and almost outdated (the iPad 2 might just be around the corner) iPad in India, in partnership with BSNL. With retail availabliity proposed for January 28th, the iPad will be available in Wi-Fi or 3G+Wi-Fi versions, each with three capacities - 16GB, 32GB, 64GB. The Wi-Fi version priced between Rs. 26,000 to Rs. 33,000 and the 3G with Wi-Fi version priced between Rs. 33,000 and Rs. 44,000.

In addition, the reports suggest that Apple has signed up a deal with BSNL with the intention of capturing the Indian market by storm, as BSNL is the only pan Indian 3G license holder among the cellular service providers. Apparently, BSNL has proposed to provide special data plans to iPad 3G users as part of this exclusive deal with Apple. However, we are not sure if this deal is free from contractual obligations, so that other service providers could join the party.

So while it remains to be seen how well the iPad will sell in India, the world is already waiting for the iPad 2. It seems we've finally learnt our lesson though, and will not be hoping (too hard) for a global release of the iPad 2 that includes India...

Why You Learn More Effectively by Writing Than Typing........!!!

The act of writing helps you clarify your thoughts, remember things better, and reach your goals more surely. Here's a look at the science and psychology behind writing, and why the pen may be mightier than the keyboard.

Many productivity experts and writers have long espoused the power of writing things down (in fact, paper is our many of our favorite to-do list manager and we're a little fanatical about our favorite pens).

Why Writing Works

Patrick E. McLean's defense of writing longhand is a poetic dissertation on the subject; words can rush out in their raw, feral state when the pen is your tool. Technology, meanwhile, can be too distracting and distancing.
Maybe you're on the other side of the fence, though, and think all this just a lot of pure romanticism: People may feel more comfortable and productive with pen and paper because that's what they've used most of their lives (and what we as a species have used for centuries), but some like typing more and can do it more quickly. Certainly, more of us are becoming fast typists by necessity and the art of handwriting is deteriorating.
A couple of studies, though, substantiate why the physical act of writing really does boost learning and goal achievement. Hoping to provide actual scientific proof on the efficacy of writing down and sharing goals (to make up for an often-quoted mythical Harvard/Yale study of goals), a psych professor at Dominican University of California found that people who wrote down their goals, shared them with others, and maintained accountability for their goals were 33% more likely to achieve them, versus those who just formulated goals. (One can argue that in this instance, typing would be equally effective; see "Why Writing Works Better Than Typing" below for why writing still may be better.) Another study found positive effects of writing on learning foreign words, and a survey of note-taking studies found several examples where taking notes helped students with recall and academic performance.



The research results may seem common sense or obvious to many of us. If you're interested in the biology behind writing's effect on our achievements, though, here's a little background: Writing stimulates a bunch of cells at the base of the brain called the reticular activating system (RAS). The RAS acts as a filter for everything your brain needs to process, giving more importance to the stuff that you're actively focusing on at the moment—something that the physical act of writing brings to the forefront. In Write It Down, Make It Happen, author Henriette Anne Klauser says that "Writing triggers the RAS, which in turn sends a signal to the cerebral cortex: ‘Wake up! Pay attention! Don't miss this detail!' Once you write down a goal, your brain will be working overtime to see you get it, and will alert you to the signs and signals that […] were there all along."

Why Writing Works Better Than Typing

There may also be a scientific basis for the pen's superiority over the keyboard when it comes to writing development and cognitive functions. Dr. Virginia Berniger, who studies reading and writing systems and their relationship to learning processes, found that children's writing ability was consistently better (they wrote more, faster, and more complete sentences) when they used a pen rather than a keyboard; these are, of course, subjects without a penchant for using either tool. We also previously covered the WSJ article that connected handwriting and cognitive abilities; in one of the studies cited, adults learned new symbols and graphic shapes better when they reproduced them with pen-and-paper instead of typing them.

The difference, Berniger notes, may lie in the fact that with writing, you use your hand to form the letters (and connect them), thereby more actively engaging the brain in the process. Typing, on the other hand, involves just selecting letters by pressing identical-looking keys.

Of course, whether the pen or the keyboard is better for you depends on your personal experience and comfort with these tools. As a compromise, perhaps we should all get stylus-friendly tablet PCs or digital pens.

Do You Have Time.....???

I knelt to pray but not for long
I had too much to do
Must hurry off and get to work
For bills would soon be due.
And as I said a hurried prayer
Jumped up from off my knee
My duty was now done
My soul could be at ease

All through the day I had no time
To speak a word of cheer
No time to speak to friends
They'd laugh at me I fear
No time...No time too much to do
That was my constant cry
No time to give to those in need

At last it was time to die
And when the Lord I came
I stood with downcast eyes
With His hands He held a book
It was The Book of Life

He look in the book and said
Your name I cannot find
I once was going to write it down
But never found the time...

Dual SIM Android anyone? Make way for the Motorola Glam XT800 [update - confirmed]......!!!

Update: No longer a rumour, the Motorola XT800 or Glam has been launched in India, priced at Rs. 31,999. Specifications listed earlier remain much the same, including a 3.7-inch (480x854 pixel resolution) capacitive touchscreen with Gorilla Glass, Android 2.1, CDMA-GSM dual SIM support, 3G 1xEV-DO Rev.A and GPS connectivity, 5MP camera with dual-LED flash, 1GB internal storage expandable to 32GB, 550MHz processor, 512MB RAM, stereo FM with RDS, and a 1390 mAh battery with about 5 hours 40 minutes of talk time and 100 hours of standby time.

We're quite shocked at the price though - For that price Motorola ought to have squeezed in a 800MHz processor at the least, if not a sliding QWERTY keyboard. The ability to view and edit Office documents straight out of the box is a definite plus though.

Original Article (17-01-11 19:18:19): This might just be the biggest thing to hit India in a while - reports suggest Motorola is looking to launch a 3G capable dual SIM Android phone in India soon, capitalizing on two or three of the biggest trends in the Indian mobile market today.

Called the Motorola Glam (also known as the XT800), the phone supports the GSM-CDMA type of dual SIM operation, which isn't extremely ideal for those currently happy with their GSM-GSM type phones, but, will be good news for others who are looking to utilise GSM and CDMA connections separately for voice and data.

While the phone is not exactly new, and was launched with older versions of Android before, it is expected to arrive with Froyo in tow when in launches in India sometime next week. Other specifications include a 3.7 inch display, 550 Mhz processor, 256MB RAM, and a 5 MP camera with dual LED flash and autofocus, apart from GPS and Wi-Fi connectivity and a 1390 mAh battery.