Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

LONDON (Reuters) - Warner Music, the world's fourth largest music group, is putting its archive of music video online and making it available for free to fans. Warner, home to Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, will work with digital services provider Premium TV to create online TV sites or "digital hubs" that will be organized by artist, genre or label and funded by advertising. The move is part of the music industry's drive to generate revenue from new sources to offset the fall in CD sales and follows the explosion in popularity of online video. Warner said the platforms would show previously unseen footage and would eventually be available in different languages. Revenue will be driven by advertising but music fans will be able to download the videos for an additional fee and Warner will also examine syndicating the content to a third party. The deal includes plans to develop subscription-based services and a version to be used on mobile platforms. "This ...

Reuters - Leading mobile phone maker Nokia said on Thursday it would introduce three new phone models to its line-up, two of them mid-range and one at the higher end of the market. The Nokia 6500 Classic is a thin 3G-enabled phone, and has quad-band for global use, as well as a micro-USB connector. The 9.5 mm thick phone, one of Nokia's thinnest, is expected to hit the stores in the third quarter and retail for 320 euros ($430) before taxes and subsidies, Nokia said. The 6500 Slide is a 3G phone with a 3.2 megapixel camera and a stainless steel body, and is expected to sell for 370 euros, starting in the third quarter. The Nokia 8600 Luna is a design-driven stainless steel and glass phone with a 2 megapixel camera. It is expected to retail, starting in the current quarter, for around 700 euros before taxes and subsidies, Nokia said.

The costliest film to be made in Tamil, ‘Sivaji’ took more than a year to make. Shootings were done in Hyderabad, Pune in India and USA and Spain. Will be releasing worldwide on 15 June' 2007 ! Even as his innumerable fans are making hectic preparations to celebrate the release of his 100th film in Tamil, Sivaji on June 15, Rajnikant has sought to restrain them by directing them not to go overboard and cause public nuisance. Rajnikant fans, who had been waiting for the release of 'Sivaji' two years after their celluloid hero's hit Chandramukhi , are virtually painting Tamil Nadu red, as it were, putting up huge cut outs and digital banners hailing their celluloid hero. However, Rajnikant, who after a long gap met with his fans in Chennai last month on the eve of the release of 'Sivaji’ on Thursday issued 'five commandments' to his fans asking them to maintain decorum while indulging in the bash. 'Sivajis' Image Gallery: Rajnikant’s directives issue...

According to a new research review by Japanese researchers, longer work outs that last more than half an hour may boost your good cholesterol. What is Cholesterol? Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is found in the body tissue and blood of all animals. The liver manufactures about 80 per cent of the cholesterol in our bodies. The other 20 per cent comes from the food that we eat. There are two types of cholesterol good and bad. While too much bad cholesterol can cause heart disease, good cholesterol helps to remove bad cholesterol from the walls of arteries and transports it to the liver for elimination. Unlike low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol, a rise in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or good cholesterol is considered positive for heart health. At least two hours per week of aerobic exercise such as walking, biking, or swimming, preferably in sessions lasting for more than half an hour, may boost the good cholesterol, said new research review published in the Japanes...

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile , Research) will unveil a coffee-table-shaped "surface computer" on Wednesday in a major step towards co-founder Bill Gates's view of a future where the mouse and keyboard are replaced by more natural interaction using voice, pen and touch. Microsoft Surface, which has a 30-inch display under a hard-plastic tabletop, allows people to touch and move objects on screen for everything from digital finger painting and jigsaw puzzles to ordering off a virtual menu in a restaurant. It also recognizes and interacts with devices placed on its surface, so cell phone users can easily buy ringtones or change payment plans by placing their handsets on in-store displays, or a group of people gathered round the table can check out the photos on a digital camera placed on top. The world's largest software maker said it will manufacture the machine itself and sell it initially to corporate customers, deploying the first units...

Mexico City: A 20-year-old dancer Riyo Mori from Japan, who wants to someday open an international dance school, was crowned as Miss Universe 2007. Mori, from the small town of Shizuoka at the base of Mount Fuji, won the cheers of the Mexico City audience when she opened her interview, saying "Hola, Mexico!" The daughter of a dance school operator, Mori said her grandmother told her as a child she wanted her to be Miss Japan before she turned 20. Riyo Mori nervously grabbed the hands of first runner-up, Natalia Guimaraes of Brazil, just before the winner was announced. She was trembling in awe as the diamond-and pearl-studded crown was placed on her head. Miss USA Rachel Smith, whose chances may have been dimmed when she slipped and fell to the floor during the evening gown competition, was the contest's fourth runner-up. Also finishing in the top five were second runner-up Ly Jonaitis of Venezuela and third runner-up Honey Lee of Korea. Miss India Puja Gupta, who made to...

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian cinemas have found a powerful new weapon in their fight against movie pirates -- military-style night-vision goggles. After showing people to their seats, trained ushers are strapping on the goggles and scanning darkened cinemas around the country to spot anyone trying to make illegal copies of movies with hand-held video recorders or mobile phones. The Motion Picture Association, which is training Malaysian ushers to catch the pirates, said cinemas had caught 17 people in the past two months, during which Hollywood studios released blockbusters like "Spider-Man 3" and "Pirates of the Caribbean". "All of the cases were spotted with night-vision goggles," the association's Malaysia manager, Nor Hayati Yahaya, said on Friday. "Its very successful." Malaysia figures on the U.S. watchlist for movie and software piracy, but local authorities have launched a major crackdown on producers and retailers of illegal DV...