Maruti SX4 Unleashed!!

Here is what I have found out comprehensive info on SX4.

Hatchback is a term describing an automobile design, consisting of a passenger cabin with an integrated cargo space, accessed from behind the vehicle by a tailgate or flip-up window. The vehicle must have at least two rows of seats, with the rear set able to fold down to increase cargo space.
Hatchback vehicles are functionally similar to station wagons (which are intended to carry large volumes), but distinguished by a smaller load area.

A fastback is a car body style characterised by a continuous slope from the roof to the base of the decklid. Fastbacks can be two-door coupés or two- or four-door sedans.
Unlike the hatchback, a fastback car has a fixed rear window and typically a trunk that is separated by a bulkhead from the passenger cabin.Fastbacks provide an advantage in developing aerodynamic vehicles with a low drag coefficient.Mercedes Benz class is one of its finest example.

Fastback is a U.S. term - in the UK, true fastbacks are so unfamiliar that no word exists for them. They are often mislabeled as hatchbacks, which by definition are different vehicles where the entire rear portal or 'fifth door' including the window will open. For example, the Rover 800 liftback is not a fastback.A hatchback that looks like a fastback, but has a rear window integral to the hatch and a luggage compartment integral to the cabin, is properly termed a liftback. All liftbacks are hatchbacks with a fastback's profile, but a true fastback is neither a liftback nor a hatchback.

Now another term ->A sedan car, American English terminology (saloon in British English), is one of the most common body styles of the modern automobile. At its most basic, the sedan is a passenger car with two rows of seats and adequate passenger space in the rear compartment for adult passengers. The vehicle has a separate for luggage at the rear.Both the above automobiles are types of saloons.

Now, the pride lies in that India has its first saloon launched by Maruti in the form of Baleno-the saloon version of SX4.

After all ,it is the first car to be sold with an M class engine.SX4 is the critical product for Suzuki not only in India but also in US where it has lost its edge.

Yes the Honda dominance has finally been broken atleast for may[however see no reason why it cannot continue],the sx4 has outsold the Honda city,coupled with the fact that Hyundai Verna diesel sales have
also picked up means gloomy days ahead for the present honda city in India.Precisely why Honda is going in for another facelift by this diwali[a little unscheduled] before coming up with an all new platform by 2008. So prospective Honda city customers be warned you will sit with an old model in just a few months time.

SX4 is created by the same Suzuki team that won many awards all over the world with the Suzuki Swift. Success of swift lies in its sporty nature, Suzuki has chosen the same for its SX4 sedan.Here is the link where detailed comparison b/w Honda City and SX4 has been given:

http://www.autocrust.blogspot.com/2007/05/maruti-suzuki-sx4-vs-honda-city.html

5 Love Notes to My Grandmother

This was posted on a blog http://www.helpothers.org/story.php?sid=6932 that was really inspiring and touching:

"I was just in France to visit my grand-mother who is very dear to me. I don’t get to cross the Atlantic very often, and she’s now 96 year old, so every time I go visit, the two of us are very aware that it might be the last time we see each other. Last time I visited her in December of 2004, I did a series of short video interviews about her life. I asked her what it was like to grow up with her father in the 1910s (her mother died during labor), to live through the German occupation alone with two young children with a husband away in a prisonner's camp in Germany. I asked her about her greatest memories and life learnings so far, her favorite books, foods, stories. I also asked her about her spirituality and her thoughts about death. I learned a lot of amazing new things about her I never knew before. These were very intimate conversations and a very special time for both of us.

This year, I did not really have questions, only a great urge for her to know how loved she is. I cooked for her, and read her stories. I gave her a foot massage, which I was amazed to discover was her first ever! Before leaving, I was looking for a way to leave something meaningful to behind besides the memory of our time together. So I wrote her five different love and gratitude notes to let her know how much she means to me, and hid them in different places where I knew she would eventually find them… One under the sheets, on her pillow. Another one hanging from the lamp shade by which she reads in the evening. Another one by her toothbrush. One in her mailbox which she eagerly checks every day. And a last one on her car’s steering wheel (she still drives to the nearby village a couple of times a week to run errands!). I left really joyous knowing that these cards would surely cheer her up after I left (she lives by herself). She called me as I was traveling back to Paris to catch my plane back to the US and said (in French of course): “I found your three cards! By the time I discovered the third, I was laughing out loud! They did me so much good. Thank you so much!” I smiled to myself, knowing she still had two more to go! It was Sunday, so my guess is that she had not checked her mailbox and had not yet driven her car!

As I was sitting on the plane back to the United States, I remembered that one of my friends' guiding principles is to treat everyone like family, and so I was thinking about ways to practice that in different settings, including on a plane ride. I decided that on my next flight, I would bring and write five anonymous appreciation cards for different people on the plane, including the pilot who probably does not get thanked enough for taking us safely to our destination."

Capturing The Beauty Of Nature ! !

I have been thinking to add this post as my first one but waited for the right matter to add to it.

Being a great photo enthusiast, I am passionate about capturing aesthetic beauty endowed by HIM to us.

Photography has been greatly enhanced by the invention of the digital cameras and the famous photoshop software .One of the most beautiful aspect digital cameras provide to us is that they let you experiment various modes , tuning between zooming,brightness,exposure,etc. and more importantly,you can delete the images you feel, are crap. This has brought the photography experience to an entirely different level.

Recently,I found a website of a photographer Marc Adamus whose marvellous work made me spellbound. They really depict the extra-efforts that are required apart from camera for a successful snap.Each and every snap taken by him depict a perfect blend of rich colours and a flavour of freshness one senses in one's cornea.

Here is the link:http://wildphoto.smugmug.com/

He had won the monthly contest of April organized by popphoto.com :http://www.popphoto.com/photocontests/1575/your-best-shot.html

So,to all photography enthusiasts, here is the podium to show your talent. Go and get going with the contests on http://www.pophoto.com/

SPEED OPTIMIZER

Well ,with so many speed optimizers available for download, its quite cumbersome to select one of them. Another question which arises is that to what extent does it optimizes your pc's performance.Here I got one which I felt boosted my cpu's performance by 25-30% .

The software I am talking about is Uniblue SpeedUpmyPc.The interface is cool and the performance of the software is good as well. Optimizations for memory,internet and cpu are available along-with cleanup of junk files and privacy files.

As it says ,"SpeedUpMyPC makes it easier than ever before to optimize your settings, free up resources, and remove resource hogs. With simple explanations and real-time graphs for all vital system resources, SpeedUpMyPC identifies performance bottlenecks in minutes. With a heavy-duty arsenal of optimization tools, such as RAM recovery, CPU optimization, start-up management, and automatic crash recovery, SpeedUpMyPC is THE must-have utility for both beginner and power users."

Here is the link for download the latest version of this award-winning software:

http://rapidshare.com/files/33021829/SuMP_v3.5.2321.28.rar

The link for add-ons like Spyeraser and Registrybooster are:

http://rapidshare.com/files/33219679/Registry_Booster_2.0.1041.3208.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/29821323/SpyEraser_v1.5.rar

Good Will Hunting

Couple of days back, I saw the 1997 Hollywood-flick named "Good Will Hunting" starring Matt Damon,Ben Affleck,Robin Williams in the main lead. The movie centers around Matt Damon playing the role of extraordinary intelligent 'Will Hunting' who is exceptionally good in mathematics but unaware of his exceptional talent.He is an orphan and a janitor at MIT.The tagline "Some people can never believe in themselves, until someone believes in them" as quoted by imdb perfectly suits it.

The director Gus Van Sant brings out the mental dilemma of the boy being orphan and
his own way of leading his life overcoming to what has happened with him in the past.
One of the best aspects of the movie was the numbering of the movie in which Fourier series has been used and the problem given by the professor in the movie's initial stage.
The screenplay is exceptionally good and the acting by all the stars is worth appreciating. The light music in the background is quite soothing and the song in the end is quite good .However, the love interest of Matt Damon played by Minnie Driver was the weakest part of all.She must improve over her speech control, i must say,and her way of laughing,too pathetic.

Robin Williams and Matt Damon outshone everyone though.The best moments of the film was the conversation between the two when one witty statement completely overcomes the another one.Robin has always been outstanding in playing serious roles,be it 'Dead Poets Society' or 'Bicentennial Man' etc.

Regarding the script, it had a real slice of life, and brilliance in it.It had a soul of its own.Though one factor that really pricked me inside was the F-word used so many times. But after rethinking,i realized that it set the mood and the background of the boy and hence ,the movie.

I recommend this to all who appreciate intelligent,life-oriented movies intertwined with emotions and love.Go, give a shot to it !!!!

Ducati Reloaded !!!

Remember the green Ducati 996, an Italian street motorcycle manufactured by Ducati from 1999 to 2003 which was run by Trinity in the famous chase scene in "The Matrix Reloaded" movie and many more great models produced by them till now,here is another masterpiece launched last week.

From a press release issued by Ducati North America:

Cupertino, CA – Ducati North America announces today the release of the 2007 Sport 1000 Mono Special Edition, which is being produced exclusively for the North American market.

Production of this model will be limited to 100 units (90 for the US, 10 for Canada). With only 100 units being produced, this will be one of the rarest Ducati’s made in recent history.

Combining modern technology and historic design, this Sport 1000 SE embodies the spirit of the legendary 1978 Ducati 900SS “Darmah,” and features the classic timeless Black and Gold paint scheme.

Each of the limited 100 Monoposto (single seat) 2007 Sport 1000 SE models will be identified by a numbered plaque, located on the triple clamp. The motorcycle also features a twin muffler “shotgun” exhaust, spoke wire wheels and Brembo brakes. It is powered by the 992cc dual spark motor, which puts out impressive torque and horsepower figures for an air-cooled engine.

This Ducati 2007 Sport 1000 Mono SE has a MSRP of $11,495 and is currently available in dealer showrooms throughout North America.

Links :

http://www.ducatiusa.com/

www.luxist.com/2007/06/14/ducati-sport-1000-mono-special-edition/

www.ridermagazine.com/output.cfm?id=1252981

www.topix.com/motorcycles/ducati/2007/06/ducati-limited-sport-1000-special-edition-released

1st ONLINE DESKTOP VIA WINDOWS !!!

Nivio, the world's first Windows based online desktop, has been launched in New Delhi . The service allows global access to a personal virtual desktop from any internet connected device providing the users with complete freedom. Nivio will also provide a rich variety of services on demand to its subscribers which will include rental of software applications, access to a rich library of educational content and expandable storage to keep all your pictures, music and data.
Nivio enhances the computing experience by providing a simple, affordable, stress free computing in a robust & secure computing environment. According to Sachin Duggal, Founder & CEO, Nivio, "Desktop stresses have always been a concern for all computer users. Loss of data, spam & virus attacks have taken peace out of our lives. I have always believed that the world would change if computing would be simple. Originally named myremoteworkstation, I dreamed of a desktop that was anywhere and nowhere; that was stress-free and fault-less. And Nivio was born"
"I am glad that the industry has believed in my ideas and Nivio has already captivated the imagination of many Investment Bankers & raised over $3.5 million through Private Equity. Also, the promoters of Videocon hold a stake in the company. The service has a very compelling value proposition and we are confident that Nivio will have instant takers." Sachin adds. The company also plans to raise US$ 5 million to fuel expansion and growth within the next 6 months.
Nivio has gained tremendous popularity after successful beta testing in the UK . Being device technology agnostic, Nivio will be useful to all desktop users in accessing ones' Windows desktop remotely through Mac, Windows and & even some handhelds and will provide them with a real desktop experience.
Link: http://www.nivio.com/
http://www.webyantra.net/

India's first electric car

REVA- India's First Electric Car heralds a new era of non-polluting, cost effective, quiet city mobility - A boon for city commuters. This elegant, light-yet rugged, two-door sedan comfortably seats 2 adults in the front and 2 children at the back .

Earlier known as Maini Amerigon, the Reva Project was first conceived in July 1994, when Chetan Maini, Managing Director of RECC, initiated the Reva Project at the Amerigon Inc. The first prototype ready in mid 1996 had undergone extensive tests at the Automobile Research Association of India, Pune, for homologation and was certified roadworthy.

The Reva Electric Car Company, RECC, was incorporated in 1995 as a joint venture between the Bangalore based Maini Group and AEVT Inc of Irvindale, California, to manufacture environment-friendly, cost-effective electric vehicles for city mobility. Within a top speed of 65 kms/hr, the Reva battery attains full charge after five-and-a half hours and Boasting of running costs of a mere 40paise per kilometer Reva has surely got a lot of attention till date and has instilled further enthusiasm in young minds to go for such projects.

For more : http://www.revaindia.com/aboutevs.htm