Kishore Kumar's last song fetches Rs 15.6 lakh

New Delhi: Legendary singer Kishore Kumar's last song, which he is said to have recorded three days before his demise in 1987, is set to be part of Bollywood musical 'Jhumroo', albeit with some new sounds.

The full rights to the song were bought for a bid of Rs 15.6 lakh by the owners of Gurgaon-based entertainment hub Kingdom of Dreams at the Osian's-Cinefan Film Memorabilia Auction held here Tuesday.

"The auction was just in time for Kishoreda's 83rd birth anniversary (Aug 4), and our show 'Jhumroo' also completes 100 shows Thursday. We are very excited," Wizcraft director Viraf Sarkari told IANS.

'Jhumroo' is a musical capturing the spirit of the singer. It is produced by Great Indian Nautanki Company, a joint venture between Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and Apra Group.

Evergreen Kishore Kumar songs like 'Om shanti om', 'Pag ghungroo', 'Saamne ye kaun aaya', 'Mere saamnewali khidki', 'Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si', 'Hawa ke saath saath' and 'Jahaan teri ye nazar hai' are already a part of the musical.

But now fans of the singer would also be able to hear this unreleased song in the coming months.

"It is a one-and-a-half-minute-long track. It is basically a love song and very melodious. It's not a dance number really. But what we plan to do is to get some new sounds to it with our creative team, and once it is ready, we would have it choreographed, and ultimately included in the show," said Sarkari.

The entire process could take a 'couple of months', he added. 'Jhumroo' has a cast including popular TV actors Gaurav Gera and Shweta Gulati. It is the second show after 'Zangoora: The Gypsy Prince' to be showcased at Kingdom of Dreams.

Hashim Amla – as good as gold

Reaching a landmark is a special thing. And watching one being achieved in front of your own eyes is an experience in itself. At The Oval on the third day of the first Test of the series, the South African captain Graeme Smith was one who scored a hundred (131) and that too playing in his 100th Test and in the process adding a record 259 for the second wicket against England with Hashim Amla.

Unbeaten at 183 on Saturday, Amla too had reached the landmark of being the first South African to make a triple century in Tests, surpassing his team-mate A.B. de Villiers’ 278 not out in the process which was the highest by a South African, scored against Pakistan in 2011 in the Abu Dhabi Test.

Smith, with his feat, joined those six batsmen before him who achieved that distinction of making a century in their 100th Test. The first being the former England captain Colin Cowdrey at Edgbaston in 1968 against Australia.

The list also includes two Pakistanis, Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq who both achieved it against India — at Lahore in 1989 and in Bangalore in 2005 — respectively. Both were in their own class.

I am lucky to have watched live four of those centuries in 100th Test matches, that of Miandad, Inzamam, Alec Stewart and now Smith’s.

And now it is Amla who has re-written the record books with a mammoth score that was not only brilliant in its accumulation but also a very disciplined one in nature.

Smith’s innings, though robust in character, was in a way ungainly compared to the brilliant effort of his partner Hashim Amla, the first player of Indian descent to play for South Africa in Tests.

Before 1991 it was unthinkable to have seen a non-white player playing for South Africa at any sports. Their policy of ‘apartheid’ did not allow them to include any other player than a white man, a policy run by their National Party which eventually resulted in the country losing its status and thus were thrown out of the ICC in 1970, before being brought back into the fold when Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island prison after 27 years and apartheid had to be abolished.

That opened the door for sportsmen of South Africa to be a part of the outfit. Had it not happened, we may not have seen the likes of Makhaya Ntini, Herschelle Gibbs, Ashwell Prince, Paul Adams and now players like J.P. Duminy and Vernon Philander.

Amongst them, white or non-white, Amla holds a special place being the golden boy of batting for his country. His grandparents had come to South Africa from Surat in the Indian state of Gujrat as indentured workers to settle down in Durban in Natal in the KwaZulu land which, outside India, the area holds the biggest number of people of Indian origin.

Hooked on the game from schooldays, both Amla and his elder brother Ahmed Amla made their debut in first-class cricket for Natal.

Although his brother did not make it to the top, Hashim did.

From disappointment to despair at early stages during his career, he did settle down first as under-19 World Cup captain and then as a senior team player. His Test debut was insignificant against India at Kolkata in 2004-05 but he soon found form and poised to make four hundreds in eight innings in 2004-05 domestic season.

Amla’s second Test series against New Zealand really launched him among the emerging players on the circuit. And not much later he churned up 307 runs in three Tests against India with 159 as his best at Chennai.

Hylton Ackerman, a Western Province and South African international who was a coach alongside me in Holland in the 1970s, had spotted Amla as a talent who he thought could go miles.

Australian Test batsman Dean Jones still regrets calling him a terrorist during his commentary against Sri Lanka for Ten Sports. Being bearded and a devout Muslim, Amla did not react. The TV channel took Jones off from the commentary team for his derogatory remark but Amla did not retaliate. Jones later apologised to him for his slip of tongue.

Amla in life is as straight as his bat which, when he is on song, moves like a rapier with strokes flowing with clinical precision from it as he plays back to force the ball on both sides of the wicket or when lunging forward to drive imperiously through covers and through mid-wicket and mid-on.

He is made in the classical mode and well in line to lead his country whenever the mantle shifts. Watching him bat is an experience in itself.

In 2008 his double century at Lord’s was a sight to watch and with two Tests still to go in this series, he may turn out to be the star attraction of the visitors once again.

A standing ovation by the packed capacity crowd at The Oval and his own dignified way of acknowledging the applause with a raised bat spoke a thousand words. And the innings triumph that finally came on the fifth day for his team was a befitting present for his magnificent effort with the bat.

It’s do or die against Great Britain: Rehan Butt

Pakistan registered its first win of the London Games by beating Argentina 2-0, thanks to penalty corners either side of halftime.

Mohammad Imran and captain Sohail Abbas scored as Pakistan swept past Argentina at the Riverbank Arena in London.

While the win provided much cause for celebration for Pakistani fans, veteran forward Rehan Butt said his side were already focusing on its next contest.

“We just needed three points,” said Butt.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s with a two goal difference or one goal.

Butt termed Pakistan’s next match against hosts Great Britain as the most crucial in his side’s campaign at the Games.

“Next game we are playing Great Britain. I think for Pakistan and for Great Britain we have the same feelings because there’s a do or die match for the second place.”

The Greenshirts will play against the hosts on Friday (20:00 PST), before taking on South Africa and the rampaging Australian side.

Apple: Samsung devices are knockoffs of iPad, iPhone

SAN JOSE: An attorney for Apple has told a jury that bitter rival Samsung faced two options to compete in the booming cellphone market after Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone to critical acclaim in 2007: Innovate or copy.

Samsung chose to copy, making its smartphones and computer tablets illegal knockoffs of Apple's popular products, attorney Harold McElhinny claimed.

Samsung "has copied the entire design and user experience" of Apple's iPhone and iPad, McElhinny told a jury during his opening statement at the patent trial involving the world's two largest makers of cellphones.

In his opening statement, Samsung attorney Charles Verhoeven countered that the South Korean company employs thousands of designers and spends billions of dollars on research and development to create new products.

"Samsung is not some copyist, some Johnny-come-lately doing knockoffs," he said.

Verhoeven asserted that Apple is like many other companies that use similar technology and designs to satisfy consumer demands for phones and other devices that play music and movies and take photographs.

For example, he said several other companies and inventors have filed patent applications for the rounded, rectangular shape associated with Apple products.

"Everyone is out there with that basic form factor," Verhoeven said. "There is nothing wrong with looking at what your competitors do and being inspired by them."

A verdict in Apple's favor could lead to banishment of Samsung's Galaxy products from the US market, said Mark A Lemley, a professor and director of the Stanford Programme in Law, Science, and Technology.

A verdict in Samsung's favor, especially if it prevails on its demands that Apple pay its asking price for certain transmission technology, could lead to higher-priced Apple products.

The witness lists of both sides are long on experts, engineers and designers and short on familiar names. Apple CEO Tim Cook is not scheduled to testify.

On Tuesday afternoon, Apple designer Christopher Stringer wrapped up the first day of testimony discussing his role in helping create the company's iPhone and iPod during his 17 years at the company.

Dressed in a tan suit, the bearded and long haired designer said because of Apple's desire to create original products, he and his co-workers surmounted numerous engineering problems such as working with the products' glass faces in producing both products over a number of years. Stringer said he was upset when he saw Samsung's Galaxy products enter the market.

"We've been ripped off, it's plain to see," Stringer said. "It's offensive."

The trial resumes Friday with the testimony of Apple senior vice president for marketing Philip Schiller.

Cupertino, California-based Apple Inc filed its lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co last year and is demanding $2.5 billion in damages, an award that would dwarf the largest patent-related verdict to date.

The case marks the latest skirmish between the two companies over product designs. A similar trial began last week, and the two companies have been fighting in other courts in the United Kingdom and Germany.

In the patent case, US District Judge Lucy Koh last month ordered Samsung to pull its Galaxy 10.1 computer tablet from the US market pending the outcome of the patent trial. However, she barred Apple attorneys from telling jurors about the ban.

Apple lawyers argue there is almost no difference between Samsung products and its own, and that the South Korean company's internal documents show it copied Apple's iconic designs and its interface.

Samsung counter-claims that Apple copied its iPhone from Sony. In addition, Samsung alleges Apple is using some of Samsung's own inventions without payment, such as a computer chip at the heart of the iPhone.

Samsung lawyers also stressed the company has been developing mobile phones since 1991, long before Apple jumped into the market in 2007.

Also at issue at the trial are some of the most basic functions of today's smartphones and computer tablets, including scrolling with one finger and zooming with a finger tap.

Tuesday morning's proceedings began with a bit of drama.

First, a juror pleaded with the judge to be released from the trial, saying she suffered a panic attack and spent a sleepless night after belatedly discovering that her employer would not pay her salary while she served. A sympathetic judge granted her request and left the jury with nine members.

Then the judge rebuked John Quinn, one of Samsung's attorneys, for refusing to stop a line of legal argument the judge said she had ruled on numerous times.

"Mr. Quinn, don't make me sanction you," the judge said as the lawyer continued his argument. "Please. Please. Please, take a seat."

Quinn relented and sat down, but his tenacity underscored the high stakes of the trial that is costing both sides millions of dollars in legal fees and expenses. Battalions of lawyers from prestigious law firms are working overtime to file myriad court documents.

The most senior lawyers on each side charge upward of $500 an hour for their representation

Legal experts said that most patent disputes are resolved way before trials that can bring unpredictable and ruinous verdicts.

"A patent case of this magnitude has the possibility of impacting phone technology for years to come," said Manotti Jenkins, a patent attorney with no stake in the trial. "Given the substantial revenue that is generated by smartphone technology, companies are likely to prompt more litigation of this type and continue to use the courts as an attempt to protect and expand market share."

US warns of LeT threat, asks Pakistan to act

Washington: Expressing great concern over continued threat posed by Lashkar-e-Toiba to stability in South Asia, the United States has asked Pakistan to take more action against the terrorist group responsible for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.

"We've urged Pakistan to take more action against Lashkar-e-Taiba," Daniel Benjamin, Coordinator for Counterterrorism told reporters on Tuesday in a special briefing on the State Department's annual terrorism report.

"We'd certainly like to see more progress on that trial regarding the atrocities in Mumbai," he said noting that LeT "remains a major concern on the terrorist landscape, without a doubt".

Benjamin said he had not seen any decrease in LeT strength and "the threat to stability in South Asia that it poses."

The State Department report itself also warned that "terrorist opponents of better Indian-Pakistan relations, such as the LeT, have long planned to derail any progress by launching new attacks."

Sporadic violence in Kashmir and attempted infiltrations from Pakistani territory across the Line of Control also remained serious concerns for the Indian government, it said.

The report also noted that India has increased its counterterrorism capacity building efforts and cooperation with the international community, including the US.

While the number of deaths attributable to terrorist violence was lower than in 2010, the loss of over 1,000 lives "still made India one of the world's most terrorism-afflicted countries and one of the most persistently targeted countries by transnational terrorist groups such as LeT."

Terrorist strikes during 2011 in Mumbai and Delhi, as well as Maoist/Naxalite violence in other parts of the country, further underscored the fact that India is a target for terrorist attacks, the report said.

The overview of terrorism and terrorist groups around the world found that Osama bin Laden's death last year in a US raid on his hideout in Abbotabad, Pakistan, coupled with the killing of top al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan, "puts the network on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse".

The report says the June death of Iyas Kashmiri and the August killing of Atiya Abdul Rahman, al Qaeda's second-in-command after bin Laden's death, are among the top blows dealt to the organization in Pakistan.

But it warns that "despite blows in western Pakistan, al Qaeda, its affiliates, and its adherents remain adaptable".

For Indian Men, Women Is Only A Sex Object

New Delhi: Our brains process images of men and females differently and see men as people and women as body parts, according to a new study.

When casting our eyes upon an object, our brains either perceive it in its entirety or as a collection of its parts.

The new study suggested that these two distinct cognitive processes also are in play with our basic physical perceptions of men and women - and, importantly, provides clues as to why women are often the targets of sexual objectification.

Goodbye Hotmail, hello Outlook: Top 10 features

New Delhi: Microsoft is renaming its vintage Hotmail email service as Outlook.com. Hotmail was still the world's largest email service with 324 million users (about 36 per cent of the market) but had been losing its market to Google's fast-growing Gmail. The name Outlook is familiar to most corporate workers who use the popular Microsoft Office email application.

Hotmail was launched in 1996 by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith and acquired by Microsoft in 1997 for an estimated $400 million.

The rebranding and overhaul of Microsoft's email service is Microsoft's first major change in its email service in eight years. Here are 10 highlights of the new email service from the world's largest software company:

1. Outlook.com has a new design that Microsoft says uses 60 per cent fewer pixels but 30 per cent more messages visible in the inbox

2. Outlook.com connects to Facebook and Twitter to enrich conversations. Users can view recent status by friends and Tweets shared by friends.

3. Users can chat with Facebook users and other Outlook users from inside Outlook.com.

4. Users can open, edit and share Word, Excel and PowerPoint files in Outlook.com.

5. Outlook's address book integrates contacts from Facebook and LinkedIn.

6. With Outlook.com users can make Skype video calls even when both users don't have Skype installed. This feature will be rolled out soon.

7. Photographs attached with emails can be viewed as a slideshow.

8. Outlook.com comes integrated with with Microsoft's cloud storage service SkyDrive, this removes the restrictions of attachment size limits.

9. Outlook.com automatically detects mass messages such as newsletters, offers, daily deals and social updates and puts them in separate folders. Users can customize the process to sort mail any way they want to.

10. Existing Hotmail users can upgrade to the Outlook.com preview and their email address, password, contacts, old email, and rules will remain unchanged. They can continue to send and receive email from their @hotmail.com or @msn.com or @live.com address.