"Iron Man " makes huge opening at box office

Marvel Comics the Iron Man box office break out on the weekend. And to a degree it was anticipated. Maybe that’s why Marvel had already signed the main players to a three-picture deal and had some early pre-production on the second Iron Man already in progress before the opening weekend.That and the $100 million-plus opening weekend gross - double it for a global take - means that Robert Downey Jr. will be suitably employed for the next decade. Especially when you consider Iron Man is second only to Spider-Man for comic book debuts. And that Iron Man may have a stronger appeal than Spider-Man overseas.The way things look, Iron Man is headed for another number one weekend the second time around. And that’s despite going up against the much hyped Wachowski Brothers Speed Racer which is based on a 1960s Japanese cartoon.

Accenture to Invest $250 Million to Expand Technology Consulting Capabilities

Accenture will invest more than $250 million over the next three years to expand its technology consulting capabilities to help clients align information technology and business strategy.

"Aligning IT with business strategy has, once again, become a top issue for companies worldwide. To address this, we are enhancing the end-to-end services we offer through Accenture Technology Consulting, an organization within our Systems Integration & Technology growth platform,” said William D. Green, Chairman & CEO, Accenture.

The investment is designed to address a strong increase in demand from clients for services and advice from technology-platform-independent services providers.

It will enable Accenture to enhance its strategy planning, marketing, offering and asset development, alliance development and management, and recruiting and training for its technology capabilities.

It will focus on helping clients: develop IT strategies that deliver measurable business outcomes; standardize, virtualize and secure their IT infrastructures and applications; improve worker productivity; and implement new consumer-like, Web-based applications that tap into the potential of services-oriented architecture (SOA) and other newer technologies.

The investment will enable Accenture to expand on the development of next-generation data center capabilities, including data center consolidation; server consolidation and rationalization; storage transformation; test- and development-environment transformation; service desk optimization; and "green computing" for optimizing data-center performance while reducing power consumption.

It would also focus on a series of enterprise network offerings that leverage Accenture's expertise in designing and building converged data and voice systems, highly specialized IT infrastructure and application security capabilities and next-generation workplace capabilities to help deploy IT to automate common workplace activities.

“We are enhancing the services we offer by building and expanding our technical capabilities and investing aggressively in our workforce,” said Don Rippert, Chief Technology Officer, Accenture.

China blocks websites for false advertising

China has blocked 23 websites for false advertising of drug-based products and selling drugs illegally as part of a sustained campaign against such ads.

The sites either sold counterfeit drugs or publicized false, exaggerated or misleading information regarding cures for various ailments, the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said.

Most websites disguised under the names of hospitals or medical institutions were transferred to the erstwhile Ministry of Information Industry for punishment, Xinhua news agency said quoting SFDA.

China had ordered closure of 51 websites earlier this year for carrying illegal drug advertisements.

SFDA approves drug advertisements, while the State Administration for Industry and Commerce is responsible for punishing the violators.

Maxim's five most unsexy women

Here are the five unsexiest actress by maxim . The list, featured in the latest edition of Maxim, dubs “Sex and the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker as the No. 1 Unsexiest Woman Alive, claiming Parker was the “least sexy woman in a group of very unsexy women.”
1. Sarah Jessica Parker
2. Amy Winehouse
3. Sandra Oh
4. Madonna
5. Britney Spears.

Actress without makeup

VILLIAN OF ALL VILLIANS TAMIL ACTOR RAGHUVARAN PASSES AWAY

Villian of all villian Raghuvaran passed away today(march 19,2008).He is one
of the leading tamil artist.He has acted in recently released vikram's movie
Bheema.He also acted in sivaji and many other films.His film careers was much
better than his personal life.He was all on the spotlight for his roles in
his movies .Kollywood has missed a another ace artist after sujatha passed
away early this month.

Sanjay Dutt moves apex court for permission to go abroad

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, out on bail, Thursday moved the Supreme Court, seeking permission to go abroad for the shooting of a film.

In his petition filed through advocate Hari Shankar, Dutt also sought release of his passport, impounded by the designated anti-terrorism court of Mumbai, to enable his trip abroad.

Dutt’s passport has been impounded by the court as a condition for his release on bail, granted by the apex court, pending its decision on his petition challenging his conviction and six-year sentence for possessing illegal firearms in the run-up to the 1993 serial terror bombings in Mumbai.

On Monday, the apex court had refused permission to Samir Hingora, a Hindi film producer convicted in the bombings case, to go abroad.

Refusing permission, Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan said if he was so keen to go abroad, he should first spend the remaining term of his nine-year sentence in a prison.

Hingora, who has already spent a little over five years in the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai, was granted bail by the apex court earlier.

He was given a nine-year jail term by the anti-terrorism court of Special Judge P.D. Kode for supplying arms to Dutt through gangster Abu salem on the orders of Anees Ibrahim, brother of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim.

Vodafone asked to refund value-added service charge

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Thursday ordered leading telecom operator Vodafone-Essar to refund all money that it has charged for providing value-added services (VAS) to its subscribers without seeking their approval.

“The authority had received complaints from the subscribers of Vodafone-Essar Mobile Services Ltd regarding provision of value-added services without consent,” TRAI said in a statement. The firm admitted to “technical error”, it added.

“Based on the explanation furnished by the service provider, it cannot be concluded that the value-added service was provided with the explicit consent of the consumers, particularly when the consumers have denied having given any such explicit consent,” it added.

The regulator has asked the company to refund the money within 15 days.

TRAI also said the money be refunded even to those customers who were denied of their consent while activating value-added services in their account and also to those who were offered the services free of cost initially and charged later.

However, the company said in a statement: “Vodafone recently received customer queries via TRAI regarding activation of VAS wherein TRAI had enquired whether explicit consent was obtained from the customers.

“For all these cases due proves and explanation have been provided. VAS are activated by Vodafone only after receiving explicit instructions from customers over voices, SMS or IVR (Interactive Voice Record), records of which are maintained as per requirements.”

Google to cut jobs

Google Inc plans to make an unspecified number of job cuts at DoubleClick Inc following the closing of its $3.1 billion acquisition of the advertising technology company, Google said.

In a statement on Google's website, the Internet leader said it has been limited by law from making detailed integration plans, but by early April it expects to have a plan for staffing levels in DoubleClick's US operations.

"An immediate task we'll undertake over the next few weeks is matching and aligning DoubleClick employees with our organizational plan for the business," Google said in a blog post.

"As with most mergers, there may be reductions in headcount. We expect these to take place in the US and possibly in other regions as well," the company said.

DoubleClick has 1,500 employees. Outside of the United States, Google will begin consultations with employee organizations on potential job reductions in line with local laws, it said.

A pioneer in the field of Web advertising, DoubleClick was headquartered in New York in the same building as Google's local offices. Google completed the acquisition earlier Tuesday.

iPod Nano under scanner in Japan

TOKYO: Japan is investigating a possible defect in Apple Inc's iPod after one of the popular digital music players reportedly shot out sparks while recharging, a government official said.

An official at the trade and economy ministry overseeing product problems said a defect in the lithium-ion battery is suspected in the iPod Nano, model number MA099J/A. He spoke on customary condition of anonymity, adding that he was reiterating a ministry position.

The problem, which surfaced in January in Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, was reported by Apple in March to the ministry, according to the official. No one was injured, he said.

Apple Japan did not contest the ministry statement but refused further comment. The ministry has instructed Apple Japan to find out the cause of what it is categorising as a fire linked to the iPod, and Apple must report back to the government.

The lithium-ion battery has been blamed for a series of blazes in laptops recently, resulting in massive global recalls.

The ministry said that about 425,000 iPods of the same suspected model were shipped into Japan by Apple. It was unclear how many were in stores or people's homes.

The shipment began in September 2005 and was discontinued after September 2006, the ministry said.

Japan's economy grew 3.5% in Q4

Japan's economy grew at a brisk 3.5 per cent annualised pace in the fourth quarter of 2007, showing unexpected resilience in the face of growing fears of a US recession, official figures showed on Wednesday.

Investors reacted positively to the robust fourth-quarter growth, which was only slightly weaker than an initial estimate of a 3.7 per cent expansion in the three months to December.

While business investment held up better than expected, the report failed to completely erase concerns about the outlook for the world's second largest economy.

The worry is that Japan's export-led recovery could stall if US economic troubles deepen, hitting demand for Asian goods.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.9 per cent compared with the previous quarter, unchanged from the initial estimate, the Cabinet Office said.

Financial markets had been braced for an even weaker performance after a finance ministry survey showed a 7.7 per cent year-on-year fall in capital spending in the three months to December.

"The figure was not revised down as much as the market had feared," said Daisuke Uno, chief strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC).

The stronger-than expected-growth report helped to lift investors' spirits.

Japanese stocks surged 2.7 per cent in early trade, helped by a powerful rally on overseas markets after major central banks moved to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into the financial system to ease a global credit squeeze.

"Capital investment was not revised down as much as markets had expected, which signals it remains strong alongside robust exports," said Norio Miyagawa, economist at Shinko Research Institute.

"However, there remains a gap between stronger exports and a slump in household consumption," he added.

The government said corporate capital investment in new equipment and factories increased by 2.0 percent quarter-on-quarter, down slightly from an initial 2.9 per cent rise.

Private and household consumption both grew by a tepid 0.2 per cent. The Japanese economy is gradually rebounding from recession in the 1990s but consumer spending has remained sluggish, raising worries that the export-led recovery could be hit hard by a global slowdown.

Despite the better than expected GDP data, concerns about the health of the world's second largest economy have grown amid fears of a US recession that could hit Japanese exports and corporate earnings.

IS GOOGLE AT THREAT FROM MICROSOFT?

Microsoft has recently offered to buy yahoo,the internet search engine,for $44.6 billion which translates to $31 a share of yahoo.The offer that Microsoft has made is,on a per share basis,more than 60% of the currently perevailing price of yahoo shares.this proposal is currently discussed and is being evaluated by board of directors from yahoo who will decide whether to accept microsoft offer or not

 Google threat to Microsoft
Microsoft's ambitious software anf Internet business is well known.Microsoft
acquired Hotmail from sabir Bhatia during 1998 for $400 million.Google has,
in the recent past,been shaping up as a serious competitor from Microsoft,esprecially
on the software sideof the business.It has Encroached not only into Microsoft's
advertsing revenue and email business but also into products such as word processors
Google has spent exceptionally high amounts in the'mobile internet' space which is
considered to the future star.


Microsoft threat to Google
If all goes well then,Microsoft believes that its intiatives to acquire Yahoo will at the most create a strong 'number two' competitor.google has expressed concerns that if the deal goes well Microsoft will use its domimant position and may limit the ability of  Internet users to freely access emails and instant messaging service.Truly,A fight has began unnoticed by many.Drama has just began!




post ur reply looking forward for ur comments!

"John Abraham looses 15 kg for the New film Aashayein"

The stylish and stuning actor John Abraham is busy in the making of Aashayein with Nagesh Kukunoor a very famous director.

The story is of a compulsive gambler who discovers the meaning of life with his dramatic concerns.

It is said that Nagesh suggested John to loose his weight according to his role in the film. John is working alot to loose his weight.

He has started a special diet under the assistance of a Dietitian. John says that loosing 15kgs is a big deal for him and he has changed his food habits totally.

The film Aashayein is produced by Percept picture company, the story of the film is written by the director Nagesh Kukunoor.

The music of the film is done by Salim-sulaiman who is a well known renowned director.

The Release date is announced as May 9th 2008.

The film was totally shoot in Hyderabad and Pondicherry

INDIANS TOP IN FORBES LIST OF BILLIONAIRES

Forbes list of top ten billionaires was released yesterday dated(5.03.2008).
Among top ten billionaires four were Indians.

Indians who featured in forbes
Top ten list where

Lakshmi Mittal

He is ranked fourth.
worth : $45.0 billion
Heads world's largest steelmaker, $105 billion (sales) ArcelorMittal, which accounts for 10% of all crude steel production. Just delivered 580 tons to be used in construction of the World Trade Center memorial in New York. With 44% stake, is the company's largest shareholder. Longtime resident of London is Europe's richest resident.

Mukesh Ambani


He is ranked fifth.
worth:43 billion
Asia's richest resident heads petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company by market cap. His fortune is up $22.9 billion since last year, making him the world's second biggest gainer in terms of dollars. The biggest gainer was his estranged brother Anil, who ranks 6th in the world just behind his older brother. The sons inherited their fortune from their late father, renowned industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani. But they couldn't get along and in 2005 their mother brokered a peace settlement breaking up the family's assets. Mukesh is using some of his money to build a 27-story home.

Anil  Ambani

He is ranked is sixth
worth:42 billion
The year's biggest gainer, Anil Ambani, is up $23.8 billion in the past year, and is closing gap with estranged brother, Mukesh, who ranks one spot ahead of him in the world at number five. The sons inherited their fortune from their late father, renowned industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani. But they couldn't get along and in 2005 their mother brokered a peace settlement breaking up the family's assets. A marathon runner, his biggest asset is his 65% stake in telecom venture Reliance Communications. He recently raised $3 billion from the highly anticipated initial offering of his Reliance Power, the biggest in India's history. Despite the hype, the stock tumbled 17% immediately after its February listing. In a bid to appease investors, company's board recently approved the issue of bonus shares. Still feuding with brother Mukesh: battling him in court over a gas-supply agreement.

K.P.SINGH

He ranked is eight
worth:$30.0 billion
Singh is now the world's richest real estate baron after listing his real estate development company DLF in 2007. The offering helped triple his fortune to $30 billion this year, up from $10 billion. A former army officer, known as K.P., he joined his father-in-law's Delhi Land & Finance in 1961. Singh later built DLF City in Gurgaon, his showpiece township on the outskirts of Delhi, by acquiring land from farmers. Over time, he transformed it into one of India's biggest real estate developers. Group plans to raise another $1.5 billion by listing a subsidiary in Singapore. A keen golfer, he now leaves son Rajiv, daughter Pia to run operations.

BILL GATES NO LONGER THE WORLD'S NO1 BILLIONAIRES

MICROSOFT founder Bill Gates has been knocked off his perch as the world's richest man after 13 years at the top, according to the Forbes annual billionaires' list.

US financier Warren Buffett has overtaken Mr Gates as the world's richest in this year's list.

Mr Buffett, the 77-year-old chief of the Berkshire Hathaway, saw his wealth jump from $US52 billion ($55 billion) last year to $US62 billion ($66 billion), pushing Microsoft co-founder Mr Gates into third position after 13 years as number one.

Mexican telecom Giant mogul Carlos Slim Helú now ranks as the world's second richest person with a net worth of $60 billion.

Gates is now worth $58 billion and is ranked third richest in the world. He is up $2 billion from a year ago, but would have been as rich--or richer--than Buffett, had Microsoft not made an unsolicited bid for Yahoo! at the beginning of February

Emma Watson illegal drinking

Emma Watson Harry potter girl enjoys her underage drinking. Especially when shes the actresses who plays Hermione in Harry Potter movies. Everyone is doing something at the age of 15 now a days. Oh well. I think we all had a drink at 15 I know I did and I loved it.

"Pop star Madonna and her husband opens a pub in London"

Pop star Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie who is the british director have bought a traditional pub in London which is near their house.

They paid 5 million dollars for the 18th century The Punchbowl in Mayfair, contactmusic.com reports.
Madonna absolutely adores the pub. They pop in regularly to get away from it all. Madonna loves the beer and Guy meets all his pals down there.

They have been desperate to own this place for a long time and have been making offers on it for ages. Now it has finally happened. It's only around the corner from their West End home. She will be the most glamorous landlady alive.

The pub was bought from Greg Forman, who is the son of London gangster Freddie Foreman.

Freddie confirmed the deal, saying: "It's great news. Madonna and Guy are lovely and met them a few times at the pub. It's a gorgeous place."

Jennifer Connelly joins Keanu Reeves in Sci-Fi Remake

Jennifer Connelly will star opposite Keanu Reeves in a remake of the 1951 sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still. She will play the role of a widow and young mother who meets Reeves’s , Klaatu, an extraterrestrial who attempts to convince mankind to live peacefully or face annihilation from other planets along with his indestructible robot , Jaden Smith as Jacob, and also Kathy Bates . Filming is due to start next year, with the director of The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Scott Derrickson, at the helm.

This movie will more likely remain true to the story upon which the 1951 movie is based .

In the 1951 movie, Gort is described as one of a race of robots created by the planets to maintain peace throughout the galaxy. If the 2008 remake follows the short story by Harry Bates , "Farewell to the Master" upon which the 1951 movie is based, it will be revealed at the end of the movie by Gort himself that he is the master, and not Klaatu.

Its been a longtime since Keanu Reeves gave hit , may be he could prove himself with this movie .

Shilpa Shetty joins Quantum of Solace

According to the latest update on IMDB, Shilpa Shetty and David Harbour have joined the cast of the latest James Bond film Quantum of Solace with only minor roles .

The 32 year old actress ha sbecome famous both in UK also in India is playing a role "Devi"


Also, American actor David Harbour has been added to the "Quantum of Solace" , but no details on his character are available. He has played small parts in large Hollywood productions such as "War of the Worlds" and "Brokeback Mountain".

US election campaign gets dirty HILARY CLINTON CHARGES OBAMA

60-year-old Hillary Clinton, the New York Senator, said during a rally in Ohio told "Shame on You, Barack Obama," charging the Obama campaign with producing misleading leaflets on her health care and free trade positions .One of the Obama campaign mailings says that Clinton's health care plan would force Americans to buy coverage even if they could not afford it. They seemed to have a good relation but not now . Hillary suffered 11 straight losses to Obama since super tuesday on feb 5