Saturday, 21 February 2015

INDIA's ROAST CONTROVERSY


              The recent controversy over the AIB Roast is baffling. Many groups desperate to make themselves relevant; took a moral high ground by unnecessarily dragging the organisers, producers directors and actors of AIB Roast to the court alleging an attack on India’s cultural and traditional values.
Comedy is an avenue for creative expression. We are a young country that wants to celebrate humour.  Why must we always take ourselves so seriously?
Yes, the jokes at the AIB Roast were filthy and excessively obscene. I am not justifying roast sessions where expletives are spouted every five seconds in front of a large audience. Nevertheless, with the spirit of provoking laughter, the organisers and the participants of the AIB Roast should be entitled to express their sense of humour in the manner they creatively choose to.
None of the celebrities who happily derived pleasure from being roasted with élan or the thousands of people who purchased tickets to attend the show; were offended by the vulgar jokes. The men and women present there equally endorsed the roast and were able to take the indecent jokes in their stride.
On the other hand, millions of people who watched the AIB Roast on YouTube expressed their opinions ranging from amusement to utter disgust. Viewers’ discretion was advised by AIB through a disclaimer at the start of the video. We did have the option to either watch or entirely ignore the content.
I am tempted to draw a parallel between the AIB Roast and various problems faced by women in the country. The hypocrisy and double standards of moral policing are evident in the country. The silence of moral police when atrocities are committed against women and children all over the country on a daily basis is contemptible.


Loony elements quickly spring into action when they don’t agree with something. Demanding a ban on books, articles, comedy shows; filing an FIR; sending a legal notice; targeting individuals by physical attacks and vandalizing their homes, etc.  are among the typical reactions to moral policing that endangers creative expression.
However, we don’t find them coming out in support of citizens demanding a safer environment that allows women to exercise their freedom of choice. We never see them expressing solidarity with citizens who were outraged by reprehensible acts of sexual violence against women and children.
We should roast those people whose primitive mindset is preventing women’s empowerment and progress. We should roast those people who blatantly disrespect women. We should literally roast rapists, criminals and misogynists whose existence makes our streets unsafe for women and children. We should roast those law enforcement officials who fail to offer adequate protection to women and are insensitive to their concerns.
We should roast those people who do not guarantee freedom of thought, freedom of speech and freedom of expression. We should roast those people who disallow blooming of creative expression and ideas.
Citizens are furious by the whims and fancies of the moral police and their attempts at curtailing freedom of speech (and laughter) in the country. The squeamishness of the moral police is lamentable and it is time that society reins in the misplaced sense of righteousness and sanctimony exhibited by them. Moral policing is a grave threat to our society and must be eliminated to safeguard various freedoms – including the freedom to laugh – enjoyed by the people of India.
Freedom of thought and expression is an immensely valuable gift that must be preserved and protected from lunatic fringe at any cost.
AIB is using humour as a rubber sword which allows them to make a point without drawing blood. AIB might be legally roasted by people who do not agree with their style of comedy. But it will not discourage them from conducting roast sessions, make us laugh heartily and help us develop a great sense of humour that our country desperately needs. After all, laughter is a powerful stress-relief medicine.


Thursday, 19 February 2015

THE BIG REVIEW - XIAOMI MI 4



This company made its debut in India last year and changed the way consumers think regarding smartphones. Soon, there were flash sales (concept newly introduced in India) on Flipkart and everybody wanted to buy one. After three budget smartphones, the Chinese giant has brought its next flagship to India, the Mi 4.
Let’s have a look at its features and specs.

PROCESSOR
Xiaomi Mi 4 is powered by a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor with 3GB RAM. The phone is extremely responsive and snappy with its MIUI software being optimized for the hardware. In synthetic benchmarks, the phone scored 43,864 in Antutu, 20,071 in Quadrant and 59.3 in Nenamark 2 benchmark tests.


DISPLAY
This device sports a full-HD, 5.5 inch, 1920x1080p display that comes with Corning OGS (One Glass Solution) for protection against scratches. The display has high colour saturation so colours look more vivid and good to look at.  The under-sun legibility was also good though the panel is slightly reflective. Touch response was excellent and made the phone more responsive.

CAMERA
The Xiaomi Mi 4 sports an 8MP front camera and a 13MP Sony stacked CMOS camera.  In video mode the interface is limited to two screens with one offering toggles for fast and slow motion video and HDR in addition to Settings that even lets you select 4K video recording mode. Images captured by the camera in day light turned out really well with good level of detail, accurate colour reproduction, little or no noise and good contrast.

ANDROID
Xiaomi Mi 4 runs MIUI 6, a new version of the company's operating system, based on Android 4.4 KitKat. The new OS boasts of a flatter design, smoother transition effects, better multitasking and notifications interfaces and gestures, among other features.

MIUI resembles Apple's iOS in design and navigation and doesn't come with a separate app drawer. It focuses on ease of use in addition to offering enhanced native apps, better notifications and things like call recording and call blocking.

MEMORY
The Smartphone is coupled with 3GB RAM.  It comes in two storage variants, 16GB and 64GB. Xiaomi Mi 4 offers Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS connectivity options but excludes NFC.

BATTERY
The Mi 4 is backed by a 3,080mAh battery (non-removable) and will last you one and a half days day with moderate to heavy use, even if you put the screen brightness at the highest level and use 3G data all the time. The phone offers two power modes and you can choose the balanced mode to save some juice.

PRICE
The powerhouse smartphone is priced at Rs. 19,999/-. It is exclusively available on Flipkart from January 28. The premium looking phone with a metallic frame is poised to face competition from Huawei Honor 6 and One plus One.

Overall, the Xiaomi Mi4 with a pleasant design and good hardware should be an easy choice for many. However, the decision of not providing external storage at this price could be costly. So, be ready for the weekly flash sales to acquire it. Xiaomi, building a major fan base in India will surely be getting an awesome response from this one.

Xiaomi Mi 4 detailed specifications

GENERAL
Release date
July 2014
Form factor
Touchscreen
Dimensions (mm)
139.20 x 68.50 x 8.90
Weight (g)
156.00
Battery capacity (mAh)
3080
Removable battery
No
Bundled accessories
Charger, cable
Colours
White
SAR value
NA
DISPLAY
Screen size (inches)
5.00
Touchscreen
Yes
Touchscreen type
Capacitive
Resolution
1080x1920 pixels
Colours
16M
HARDWARE
Processor
2.5GHz  quad-core
Processor make
Qualcomm Snapdragon 801
RAM
3GB
Internal storage
16GB
CAMERA
Rear camera
13-megapixel
Flash
Yes
Front camera
8-megapixel
SOFTWARE
Operating System
Android 4.4
Skin
MIUI 6
Java support
Yes
Browser supports Flash
Yes
CONNECTIVITY
Wi-Fi
Yes
Wi-Fi standards supported
802.11 a/ b/ g/ n/ ac
GPS
Yes
Bluetooth
Yes, v 4.00
NFC
Yes
Infrared
No
DLNA
No
Wi-Fi Direct
No
MHL Out
No
HDMI
No
Headphones
3.5mm
FM
Yes
USB
Micro-USB
Charging via Micro-USB
Yes
Proprietary charging connector
No
Proprietary data connector
No
SIM Type
Micro-SIM
GSM/ CDMA
GSM
3G
Yes
SENSORS
Compass/ Magnetometer
Yes
Proximity sensor
Yes
Accelerometer
Yes
Ambient light sensor
Yes
Gyroscope
Yes
Barometer
Yes
Temperature sensor
No



Sunday, 1 February 2015

ICC CRICKET WC 2015 CONTENDERS



                The cricket carnival is back. The flagship event of the cricket calendar will be held this year from 14th February to 29th March. The tournament this year will feature 14 teams competing for the coveted crown of WORLD CHAMPIONS. Everyone still remembers the last six M S Dhoni hit off Kulasekara to bring home the World cup after 28 years. This time too, the event shall have many exciting moments in Australia and New Zealand.
Let’s have a look at the contenders this year:


INDIA

Strengths – Batting will be India’s biggest strength in this tournament. A formidable line-up comprising Rohit, Virat, Raina and Dhoni himself are simply the best in the world cup.  The fielding unit is full of young bunch of energetic players. In Raina, Jadeja, Kohli, Rohit, Rahane and Dhawan, India have got 6 brilliant fielders.
Weaknesses – India’s bowling department looks like a lacklustre one. Although the spin department is quite good, the pace department has not been able to impress Down Under. Also, the non-inclusion of experienced players could be a blow to the side
Opportunity – India has the opportunity to be among the few teams to win consecutive world cups. The young guns in the team will be vying to make history this year.
Threats – Lack of experience at crucial stages is a major threat. The conditions Down Under are also not that favourable for the Indian team. Captain Dhoni will also have to improve his form for the benefit of the team.

Key Players: Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, M S Dhoni

SOUTH AFRICA

Strengths – The Proteas are one of the favourites in the tournament. They have the best team. A B DeVilliers and Dale Steyn are the greatest players in current era. They will go all out for their first WC trophy.
Weaknesses – CHOKERS. This is the term that every player in the dressing room wants to shed off. The Proteas have not won a single WC knock-out match.
Opportunity – They have the team that can taste glory this year. Backing of cricketing greats and superb form on the field shall have them going
Threats – The Proteas simply have to make sure they don’t hand matches on a platter to their opponents. Once you turn your weakness into your strengths, no target is out of bounds.

Key Players: A B DeVilliers, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, David Miller

AUSTRAILIA

Strengths – The men from down under have the best opening pair, the best all-rounder on potential in the world presently (Watson), one the best middle overs players (Clarke), the best lower order hitter (Maxwell) and most intimidating fast bowler currently in Mitchell Johnson. Other than that they are most dangerous in their home conditions.
Weaknesses – The team although lacks a quality spinner. The others members of the bowling department shall not mind though.
Opportunity – The home conditions will suit them most. They never have to make a trip to New Zealand throughout the tournament. Good form in the tri-series will boost their confidence
Threats – The pressure of playing at home will affect them. Also there is slight inexperience in the side.

Key Players: Steve Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Johnson, Glen Maxwell

SRI LANKA

Strengths – The Sri Lankans have made it to the finals of 5 world cups in the last 7 years, showing consistency similar to the Australians. They are the team of the big stage.
Weaknesses – The Lankans have some new players in their squad. Lack of depth can prove to be a weak point.Senanayeke will be missed.
Opportunity – Sangakkara and Jayawardene will be playing their last world cup. They will have it in their minds to make it big.
Threats – The Cup being held Down Under is a major disadvantage as their main bowlers i.e. spinners shall not be worth.

Key Players: Sangakkara , Jayawardene, Dilshan, MAlinga

WEST INDIES

Strengths – The West Indies team is very much versatile than their counterparts. Big hitters like Gayle and Samuel s will be the pillars of the contingent.
Weaknesses – Mystery bowler, Sunil Narine will not feature in the WC due to chucking action. Player revolts in the Caribbean team will be a concern.
Opportunity – On their day, West Indies can beat any team in the tournament
Threats – They can cause upsets at the big stage. Their unpredictability can lead to their downfall. And unfortunately for the Caribbean squad, they more often than not fail to fire collectively.

 Key Players: Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo

ENGLAND

Strengths – The Pace attack is their strength. Even though the English bowlers are better suited for the swinging pitches back home and in New Zealand, the fast bouncy Australian tracks won’t bother them much either.

Weaknesses – Captaincy is an issue with the English. The team does not include many power hitters.
Opportunity – They have never won the World Cup. The potential presence of two decent all-rounders (Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali) may encourage them to tweak the current balance of the team.
Threats – The KP saga does not seem to get over yet. Hope it doesn’t distract the players. The mindset needs to change for the better.

Key Players: Eion Morgan, James Anderson, Moeen Ali

PAKISTAN

Strengths – The fast as well as spin bowling department of the Pakistanis are their asset. This time a younger team will fight with full spirit for the coveted title.
Weaknesses – They need to make others realise that Pakistan is still a cricketing mega house. Fixing saga has troubled the team a lot in the last decade.
Opportunity – With Ajmal almost certain not to play the World Cup, it gives a chance to the plethora of spinners in the Pakistan camp to cement a permanent place in the side and go on to be one of the top spinners in the world.
Threats – Their inexplicable ability to implode; collapse when all seems to be going well. Time and again we have seen Pakistan lose from impossible positions. If Pakistan can plug that hole, they would automatically see more than just one leakage being stopped with it.

Key Players: Misbah ul Haq, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammed Hafeez, Umar Akmal

NEW ZEALAND

Strengths – They play well at the big occasions. They have world class players for every stage. Home condition will prove to be favourable.
Weaknesses – The Kiwis have a long history associated with their inability to play spin. Home pressure could have an adverse effect.
Opportunity – This year too the Kiwis will be the dark horses in the tournament. The roles played by Kane Williamson and McCullum will be key to their success.
Threats – They need to refrain from the habit of losing wickets at crucial intervals. With their excellent track record at home, they are probable semi-finalists.

Key Players: Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Tim Southee

The other six teams (Bangladesh, UAE, Ireland, Scotland, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan) are not expected to make push for the title. However, each team can cause an upset on their day.
The ICC Cricket WC is surely going to be an event of much fanfare and may the best team win




The Day Every Classroom in India Started Innovating For Its Future - The Viksit Bharat Buildathon Story

On 13th October 2025, a remarkable wave of creativity swept across India’s schools. Over 3 lakh schools of India participated simultaneously...