Sunday, September 28, 2008

Disable for loading Professional XP startup quicker

To disable unneeded startup services for a safer, faster XP, use the "Services" Admin Tool (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services). If you are a single user of a non-networked machine, you can disable the following items, with no ill effect.
  • Alerter
  • Clipbook
  • Computer Browser
  • Fast User Switching
  • Human Interface Access Devices
  • Indexing Service (Slows the hard drive down)
  • MessengerNet Logon (unnecessary unless networked on a Domain)
  • Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing (disabled for extra security)
  • Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (disabled for extra security)
  • Remote Procedure Call Locator
  • Remote Registry (disabled for extra security)
  • Routing & Remote Access (disabled for extra security)
  • Server SSDP Discovery Service (this is for the utterly pointless "Universal P'n'P", & leaves TCP Port 5000 wide open)
  • TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Telnet (disabled for extra security)
  • Universal Plug and Play Device Host
  • Upload Manager
  • Windows Time
  • Wireless Zero Configuration (for wireless networks)
  • Workstation

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Blast kills 5 in Delhi

A blast occured in Delhi killed 5 people in delhi flower market and injuring 18. The bomb was said to have kept in tiffin box and the witness said that a small kid when opened the tiffin box was blown up killing the small kid and four other in the sorroundings. This is another black Saturday for Delhi after a serial blast killing 40 exactly 2 weeks before.

ROI beat Delhi by 187 runs to clinch the Irani Trophy

The Rest of India team under the leadership of Anil Kumble Clinched the Irani Trophy 2008 by defeating Delhi under the leadership of Sehwag by a mammoth 187 runs. Although the batting collapsed for both the teams, the rest of India bowlers (Zaheer, Bajji, Kumble, Munaf) did the job for the team with an excellent support from the fielders with brilliant catching and saves. Will this be a good moral booster for team India. Meanwhile Aussie team takes on Board President 11 under Yuvi from Oct 2nd as their warm up match.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Will fortune change for Tamilnadu's Subramaniam Badrinath

Subramaniam Badrinath, the affable middle-order mainstay of Tamil Nadu and Chennai Super Kings. Of course, it is another matter that the dreaded quota system has time and again conspired to keep him out of the Indian test team where lesser mortals have rode on the media’s shoulders to claim a slot that Badri had every right to aspire for.

For, any player with 15 centuries and 20 half-centuries fro 65 first-class games with an average of 56 runs apiece, is bound to feel hard-done when players with dubious technique and temperament were force-fitted into the national test team. Maybe, it was his robust technique and grafting nature that pushed Badrinath into the shadow in an era epitomised by stroke-makers like Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and now Yusuf Pathan. Neither the fans, nor the selectors had the patience to watch a player who got behind every ball.

For the uninitiated, Badrinath was pitch-forked onto the national radar in the 2005-06-season when he scored 636 runs from seven matches with an average of 80-plus. The next year wasn’t as good but Badri still managed an average of 50-plus and what’s more he scored runs not just on home soil but on overseas A-tours too. In the 2007-08 Ranji season he was back with a bang scoring at over 65 runs an innings, a feat that got him recognition from ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who captained the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

In fact, Badrinath had a big part to play in the CSK’s journey to the finals of the inaugural IPL. Time and again he scored match-winning knocks for the “team in yellow” and on more than one occasion Dhoni complimented the Tamil Nadu player for his commitment to the team and understanding of match situation.

And it is precisely this cricketing mind that has been under focus for the past few days when Badrinath has led the India-A team admirably in the tri-series tournament against Australia-A and their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand. After a couple of early losses, the Indian A team has rebounded strongly, thanks to yet another match-winning innings from their captain.

Badri’s ability to rally the team around himself was evident in the last two games against New Zealand, both of which were won rather easily by the hosts. His crisp fielding and quick bowling changes ensured that the opponents were never let off the hook. More importantly, they were never allowed to relax in a comfort zone. So, we had the Kiwis floundering against the none-too-dangerous off-spin of Suresh Raina in Chennai.

In a country where “horses-for-courses” is still by far an alien concept and where television commentators and sports editors of television channels lend their own bias to team selection, Badrinath is probably destined to be a Godfather-less orphan. His earlier chances came as a result of injuries to senior players and sadly for Badri, that remains his only chance even today. Of course, with the new selection committee slated to take over soon, maybe Badrinath’s luck may change too.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Blasts in Islamabad

A massive bomb attack has hit the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, killing at least 40 people. The blast created a 20ft (6m) deep crater, and destroyed the entire front section of the hotel. Heavy equipment has been brought in to clear the debris so that firefighters can reach the building, which is still engulfed in flames. Police say they believe the blast was a suicide car bombing.

Owner of the hotel told that the explosion occurred when a lorry, which was being checked by security staff and sniffer dogs at the hotel entrance, blew up. The explosion is thought to have been caused by more than a tonne of explosives. Police are warning that the hotel could collapse.
Pakistan has seen a lot of violence over the past year in its battle with Islamist militancy but Islamabad has never seen anything like this before.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

ICC Awards 2008 : Dubai

ICC Cricketer of the year : Chanderpaul (WI)
Emerging player of the year : Ajantha Mendis (SL)
Spirit of Cricket : Srilankan Cricket Team
Best Umpire : Simon Taufel (Aus)
T-20 Player of the Year : Yuvraj Singh (Ind)
ODI Player of the Year : M S Dhoni (Ind)
Test Player of the year : Dale Steyn (SA)

Friday, September 5, 2008

US jobloss rate worsens than ever before

The unemployment rate in the US is at its highest level in nearly five years after a higher-than-expected 84,000 jobs were lost last month. The jobless rate has risen to 6.1%, the highest since December 2003, adding to concern about the US economy and its ability to stave off a recession.
In a further blow, the Labor Department revised upwards job loss figures for each of the past two months.
The Federal Reserve said earlier that economic activity remained "weak". A separate report by the Mortgage Bankers Association said that almost one in ten US homeowners were behind with their mortgage payments or was in foreclosure procedures. The 9.2% default rate between April and June was up from 8.8% in the previous quarter, and nearly double the rate one year ago.