Friday, June 6, 2008

Microsoft Reveals New Windows Mobile 6 Smartphone Software

Windows Mobile 6 delivers the ability to view e-mails in their original rich HTML format with live links to Web and SharePoint® sites, which means text and images are displayed as they would be on a PC, and are available from a corporate e-mail server such as Exchange Server 2007, from Web-based accounts such as Windows Live™ Hotmail or from a myriad of other popular service providers. Windows Mobile 6 also includes Windows Live for Windows Mobile, which provides customers with a rich set of Windows Live services. For example, now through Windows Live Messenger, people can chat with more than one person at one time, express themselves through animated figures, quickly send a file or image, or record and send voice notes.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

England Level The Series




Ryan Sidebottom ended England's long wait for an overseas victory by claiming a five-wicket haul to secure a 126-run triumph over New Zealand in the second Test.

The Nottinghamshire seamer grabbed two wickets on the final morning at Wellington to finish with five for 105 as New Zealand were dismissed for 311 despite a battling 85 from wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum.

It was only England's second win in 17 overseas Tests and their first Test triumph of any kind for eight matches.

The teams will now head to Napier for a series decider starting on Friday.

Resuming on 242 for six needing a further 196 runs to claim victory, the Kiwis were under pressure from the start with Sidebottom claiming the key wicket of captain Daniel Vettori with the 12th ball of the day.

Vettori, who has already claimed two half-centuries in the series, was capable of forging a major partnership with hard-hitting McCullum, but failed to make a run before edging Sidebottom low to Alastair Cook at third slip.

But far from open up an end for England, Kyle Mills arrived at the crease with attacking intentions and got off the mark with a superbly-timed cover drive for four off Sidebottom.

McCullum completed his half-century with a chop into the ground off Stuart Broad which flew over the slip cordon to the third man boundary.

He lost Mills just three overs later, however, when Sidebottom found the right line and length and swung the ball into his pads to win an lbw verdict from umpire Rudi Koertzen.

New batsman Mark Gillespie lasted 11 overs with McCullum before England brought James Anderson into the attack for the first time in the morning.

Given pain-killers to overcome his injured left ankle after his first over, Anderson struck in his second with Gillespie edging a short ball behind to wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose.

Faced with Chris Martin as his partner, McCullum had no option but to hit out and fell in the next over when he drove left-arm spinner Monty Panesar to long on where, fittingly, Sidebottom claimed the catch to complete the emphatic victory.

McCullum had defied England for over three hours at the crease, hitting nine fours and three sixes.

Imtiaz Patel to succeed Speed as ICC chief


Imtiaz Patel, chief executive of Supersport, the South African broadcast network, will succeed Malcolm Speed as the ICC's chief executive when he steps down in June. The ICC executive board, which met in Dubai on Monday, also named IS Bindra, the former president of the Indian board, as principal advisor, a new role.

Patel and Bindra were shortlisted by a four-man ICC sub-committee comprising the ICC president, Ray Mali, the president-elect, David Morgan, the Cricket Australia chairman Creagh O'Connor, and the president of the BCCI, Sharad Pawar.

Patel, a South African of Indian origin, is seen as a compromise candidate after concern among other ICC member nations over an Indian stranglehold on world cricket affairs had Bindra become the chief executive. A teacher before becoming development director at the United Cricket Board of SA - the forerunner of the current national body - in 1991, he joined SuperSport in 1999 and rose through the ranks to be its chief executive.

It is understood that the Bindra-Patel arrangement was worked out over the last "two or three days" between the Indian board and other ICC members. The BCCI had initially pushed hard for Bindra and the prospect of an age bar ruling out its candidate saw its president, Sharad Pawar, writing a letter to the ICC pointing out flaws in the argument.

The appointment bypasses concerns over a possible Indian stranglehold with Sharad Pawar in line to take over the top job from Morgan in two years. At the same time, the BCCI will have a key man in the top levels of the ICC keeping a tab on, and influencing, major decisions.

Bindra, 66, himself was reportedly not to keen to relocate to, and work in, Dubai on a full-time basis, especially since he is on the governing council of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He recently told that he would also have to take into account his daughter's education, and his position as head of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), the local association for the Mohali franchise.

An ICC official said Bindra will be based in India and will be available to it whenever necessary to provide guidance.

"We are delighted that Imtiaz is the board's choice for the post of the next chief executive," Mali said. "I have no doubt that if he accepts the position he will do a great job."



Morgan, who also takes over his post in June, said: "We are now negotiating the details of Mr Patel's engagement. In anticipation of an early completion to that negotiation, I do look forward to working closely with him during my presidency. These are exciting and busy times for world cricket and I know that Mr Patel will bring his wide range of skills and broad knowledge of the game to the table in a way that will benefit cricket as a whole.

"This has been a rigorous selection process and I am satisfied that we have exhausted every avenue to find the best person for the job. We are now in the process of negotiating the details with Mr Patel before he can be officially appointed."

The BCCI secretary, Niranjan Shah, told Bindra's appointment was "an honour for a major cricket nation like India ... Bindra is a man with great experience in cricket administration and his contribution at the highest level will be valuable."

Australia welcomes Hair's reinstatement as cricket Test umpire


SYDNEY (AFP) — Cricket Australia welcomed Darrell Hair's reinstatement as a Test umpire Wednesday and said the controversial official should be able to oversee matches in any Test nation, including Pakistan.

The Australian was barred from standing in top-level cricket matches following an abandoned Test between England and Pakistan in 2006, which ended with Pakistan conceding the first Test forfeit in the game's history.

Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young said Hair remained one of the game's most technically proficient officials and welcomed the International Cricket Council's decision Tuesday to reinstate him to the elite umpire's panel.

"We're pleased to see Darrell back," Young told AFP. "Cricket Australia has always had a view that he is, in a technical sense, an excellent umpire, one of the best two or three in the world.



"World cricket needs good umpires, it's got good umpires but it needs more rather than less, so it's pleasing to see him back and we look forward to seeing him back on the circuit."

Hair has said he will be prepared to umpire in Pakistan if called upon to do so, although the Pakistan Cricket Board have shown no sign of altering their stance that what they regard as Hair's error of judgement in the 2006 Test makes him unfit to officiate top level matches.

Young said CA believed Hair's reinstatement meant he was eligible to umpire in all Test-playing nations.

"It's an ICC issue but we would support the notion that the ICC should be able to send him wherever it wants to send him in the world whenever it wants to send him according to its rostering of umpires," he said.

Sri Lanka cricket tour of Pakistan hits IPL roadblock


COLOMBO (AFP) — Sri Lanka's proposed series of one-day internationals against Pakistan next month is in jeopardy due to a clash of dates with the cash-rich Indian Premier League.

Sri Lanka had offered to play in the short series following a pull-out by Australia from a full tour of Pakistan in March-April due to security concerns.

But the dates of the series -- from April 23 to May 5 -- are in direct clash with the inaugural Twenty20 league, to be played over 44 days at various venues in India from April 18 to June 1.

The lure of playing in the cash-rich IPL ahead of the Pakistan series could prompt top Sri Lankan players to shun their national colours, media reports said Sunday.

Captain Mahela Jayawardene, key batsman Kumar Sangakkara and spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan are among a host of Sri Lankan players contracted to play in the IPL.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the governing body for the sport here, would be helpless to prevent the players from playing in the league as they are currently bound only by the West Indies tour contract, The Nation reported.

It said the players, currently in the West Indies to play two Tests and three one-day internationals, had deliberated at length over the clash.

"It is reliably learnt that there was a meeting amongst the Lankan cricketers on Friday at


Guyana on the next course of action they were to take if they don't get the required permission to play in the IPL," the daily said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has said that it was willing to offer SLC 800,000 dollars for the series of five one-day internationals, slated to be held from April 23 to May 5, but only if they send their full team.

The clash of dates has apparently also upset the Indian Cricket Board with a top official reported to have expressed his displeasure over the Pakistan tour to his counterpart in Sri Lanka over telephone.

SLC chief Arjuna Ranatunga is banking on the Indian tour in July-August to pull the board out of financial difficulties. A possible Indian decision to cancel the tour would cost Sri Lanka more than a million dollars.

Bell and Strauss added 187 for the fourth wicket.


The Middlesex left-hander, without a century in his previous 31 Test innings, hit an unbeaten 173 as the tourists reached 416 for five by the close of the third day in Napier.




It eclipsed the 147 he scored against South Africa in Johannesburg three years ago, and helped put England into a dominant position.

He was followed to three figures by Ian Bell, another player under pressure to perform after 23 Test innings without a century, as England's top six finally delivered in their final innings of the series.

Strauss had scored just 97 runs in the previous five innings of the series having been brought back into the side after missing out in Sri Lanka before Christmas.

But he responded to the high stakes with his biggest Test innings and his first century since hitting 116 against Pakistan at Headingley in August, 2006 - 16 Tests ago.

He had started the day on 42 with England already 176 runs ahead on 91 for two with a responsibility to guide the tourists into a big enough lead to declare on a pitch looking flatter by the day.

He took nine overs to reach his first half-century in eight innings with a drive down the ground for four off Martin and helped forge a useful 63-run stand with Kevin Pietersen.

Pietersen had looked comfortable at the crease during the stand and seemed in control of his innings when he fell midway through the morning session.

Pushing forward defensively to left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, Pietersen was beaten by the turn and edged low to allow Ross Taylor - filling in for the ill Stephen Fleming at the time - to take a fine low catch to his right.

But that was the last success New Zealand were able to celebratefor some time as Strauss and Ian Bell added 187 in a 50-over alliance.

Bell walked out to bat with just 140 runs to his name in his previous five innings but quickly decided to try and be dominant and launched Vettori over long on for an early six.

He reached his half century after only an hour and 20 minutes' batting, hitting eight fours and two sixes to reach the landmark, and provided the aggressive thrust of England's innings as Strauss crawled towards his crucial 11th Test century.

Warwickshire batsman Bell claimed his first hundred since hitting an unbeaten 109 against West Indies at Lord's last May shortly before tea with a top edge down to the fine-leg boundary for the 16th four of his innings.
But with big hundreds on offer to both batsmen on a flat wicket and against a New Zealand attack without seamer Kyle Mills and all-rounder Jacob Oram, Bell missed out when he chipped Vettori to mid-off for 110.
Paul Collingwood also failed to cash in on the conditions and situation and, after racing to 22 off 19 balls, gave a tame return catch to Vettori.
Their failures, however, spurred on Strauss to hit his first Test 150 and by the close had been batting for over seven hours and had hit 25 boundaries.

Historic win for Sri Lanka over Windies

PROVIDENCE (Guyana), March 27: Chaminda Vaas played a starring role with the ball, as Sri Lanka created a bit of history, when they completed a 121-run victory over West Indies in the opening Test on Wednesday.

Vaas captured five wickets for 61 runs from 22.2 overs and Muttiah Muralitharan took three for 112 from 45 overs, as West Indies, chasing a highly improbable, if impossible 437 for victory, were dismissed for 315 in their second innings about 15 minutes before the scheduled close.

Fittingly, it was the combination of Vaas and Muralitharan that formalised the result with 5.4 overs remaining.

Vaas delivered a rising ball to West Indies batting bunny Daren Powell which he tried to scoop over mid-off and Muralitharan back-pedalling held a remarkable catch reaching backwards to hand Sri Lanka a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series.

The victory however, did not come easy for Sri Lanka though, as Dwayne Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan, and West Indies captain Chris Gayle all collected half-centuries to extend the home team's innings deep into the last day at the Guyana National Stadium.

Sri Lanka's run to victory was made difficult by Bravo with the top score of 83; Sarwan, who hit his second half-century of the match of 72; and Gayle - batting down the order - made an unbeaten 51.

The Sri Lankans reduced West Indies to 278 for eight enter the final hour, after Thilan Thushara had Denesh Ramdin caught at slip for one, and Muralitharan had Sulieman Benn adjudged lbw for seven in the first hour after tea.

But Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene - as usual - put the fate of the visitors in the hands of Vaas and Muralitharan and they responded to the challenge.

Vaas had Jerome Taylor caught at second slip for 12, and thought he had won the game, when Powell turned his back on a short delivery from the same bowler, and it appeared he gloved it to Jayawardene at second slip.

Television replays showed it ricocheted from just above his left glove, but Vaas had the final say to make him a shoe-in for the Man-of-the-Match award with match figures of eight for 100 and an unbeaten 54 in the Sri Lanka first innings total of 476 for eight declared to boot.

But the victory had a tinge of controversy, as Sri Lanka benefitted from two questionable decisions in the final half-hour before tea to enhance their chances of victory.

Muralitharan was the beneficiary, when Ryan Hinds, again batting with the assistance of a runner because of a hamstring strain, was looking to bat through until the break.

The Sri Lanka off-spin legend bowled a delivery wide down the leg-side, and Hinds tried to swing it away behind square, and he was adjudged caught behind by umpire Simon Taufel.

Television replays seemed to suggest that Hinds did not make any contact, and Hinds unfortunately may face ICC Match Referee Chris Broad following the game for standing his ground.

Sri Lanka also appeared to benefit, when umpire Billy Bowden adjudged West Indies vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan lbw to Thilan Thushara for a well-played 72.

Television replays again showed that Thushara had run wide on the crease and his delivery appeared to be heading down the leg-side.

But there were no questions, when Chaminda Vaas bowled skillfully enough in the first hour after lunch to scalp Marlon Samuels caught behind for 10, and bowled Shivnarine Chanderpaul for three with a well-pitched delivery that breached the batsman's bat and pad.

The Sri Lankans had toiled for most of the morning before making a breakthrough just before West Indies reached lunch on 170 for two.

The Sri Lankans laboured for close to an hour and three-quarters before Muralitharan held a straightforward return catch to remove Dwayne Bravo for 83.

The visitors' hopes for early wickets were dashed, when Bravo and Sarwan stoutly resisted the Sri Lankan bowlers after West Indies continued from their bedtime total of 96 for one.

Sri Lanka began their attack with the spin bowling pair of Muralitharan and left-armer Rangana Herath, but neither posed a serious threat to Bravo and Sarwan.

This allowed Bravo to reach his 50 in the first half-hour, when he edged Muralitharan past slip fielder, Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene to third man for the seventh of his 10 fours which was adjudicated by the video umpire after Herath made a mad scramble to prevent the ball from reaching the boundary rope.

The Sri Lankans did not offer the West Indies' batsmen free runs though, and Sarwan had to wait until inside the final half-hour before the interval to reach his 50, when he cut Vaas' first delivery of the day through square cover for a single.

But the Sri Lankans finally reaped reward for their perseverance, when Bravo's petulance and Muralitharan's guile prevailed to bring to an end a record second-wicket stand for West Indies of 134 against these opponents.

Sri Lanka, eyeing a Test series victory for the first time in the Caribbean, have lost two and drawn two of their previous four Tests in this part of the World.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

What is IPTV




IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is a system where a digital television service is delivered by using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. A general definition of IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional broadcast and cable formats, is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks.

For residential users, IPTV is often provided in conjunction with Video on Demand and may be bundled with Internet services such as Web access and VoIP. The commercial bundling of IPTV, VoIP and Internet access is referred to as "Triple play" service . IPTV is typically supplied by a service provider using a closed network infrastructure.

This closed network approach is in competition with the delivery of TV content over the public Internet, called Internet television. In this IPTV the television connects to the internet. Instead, IPTV refers to the use of the IP as a delivery

mechanism that can use the Internet, which represents a public IP-based network, or IPTV can be used to deliver video content over a private IP-based network. Because IPTV requires the use of the IP only as a delivery mechanism, IP can be used to deliver various types of content over both the Internet and private IP-based networks.
There no boundaries, limits and user able to gain high quality picture and videos.
Examples of IPTV content can range in scope from music videos to television shows, full feature movies, rock concerts, and a variety of special events, such as boxing matches, football games, or even Broadway musicals. All of these are delivered over IP network. It is not internet. IPTV uses a two-way digital broadcast signal sent through a switched telephone or cable network by way of a broadband connection and a set-top box programmed with software (much like a cable or DSS box) that can handle viewer requests to access to many available media sources. For IPTV need to high speed connection. Because through cable the data very instead. From an end user’s perspective, IPTV looks and operates just like a standard pay TV service.
From a service provider’s perspective, IPTV encompasses the acquisition, processing, and secure delivery of video content over an IP based networking infrastructure . The type of service providers involved in deploying IPTV services range from cable and satellite TV carriers to the large telephone companies and private network operators in different parts of the world.
Finally Transport cost of bit is constantly declining. Advancements in video compression, reliability of IP transport enabling digital-quality video transmission . So next generation is IPTV services and technologies.

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