My View on Google Chrome

Google Chrome – almost every Internet user is talking about it. I never knew about this browser until morning when I saw the newspaper which said that Chrome was available for download on Tuesday. I wanted to know how this browser performs and so I downloaded and installed it on my system. When I launched the browser, the first thing that attracted me is the sleek design of the browser. Unlike the other browsers, Chrome has the design of all with just a tab bar and the address bar. This kind of design gave me a better view of the webpage. The thumbnails of most visited pages on the start page of the browser is an useful feature. The history search box, recently closed tabs list are displayed when you open a new tab are also useful features. The auto search for sites while you type in the address bar is also useful for those who don’t remember the exact name of the site. Pulling a tab out of the tab bar makes the tab open in a new window and vice versa is a new and great feature found in this browser. The Incognito window which is similar to Porn Mode in IE8 is a useful feature for private browsings. Another cool feature seen in Chrome is creating the application shortcut.

The best feature found in Chrome is using the Task Manager to close the tab that doesn't respond rather than closing the entire window. This saves the other working tabs from closing.

Looking at the performance section, I think google has concentrated more on security. Apart from google related sites, other sites loaded slower for me. If I disable the some of the security options, the pages loaded somewhat better for me. But, the page load speeds were slow when compared with firefox or internet explorer. To be honest, I was not satisfied with the performance of Chrome, as heavy sites took me a lot of time to load. Even my blog took about a minute to load completely where as in firefox it takes less than 10 seconds to load completely. My friends said that few websites doesnot load properly for them. No add ons for this browser yet.

I use Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, K-meleon, Flock in my system. Comparing with all these browsers, Chrome was only an underperformer. May be the looks feel good with some useful options. But, for a person like me for whom speed is the only requirement, Chrome was not in the list. May be, if there are some tweaks for this browser may make it faster. Until, I find those tweaks, Chrome is out of my system. And this browser is still in its beta stage and so i am keeping my fingers crossed for a better stable version in the future.

P.S : This is my experience with Chrome and I did not support any browser in particular. If you have something to say about Chrome, do say it in the comments section.

Anbe Sivam - A recap

Anbe Sivam - this movie would have brought tears in everyone who saw the film. It was such an touching story and it definitely made a impact in me. But, when the film was released, no one appreciated the theme of the movie. Here is one of the review which i read about the movie at the time of its release.

Kamalhassan’s intension to make a warm, funny and feel-good Anbe Sivam has ended up sadly as another predictable and corny film which is neither a comedy caper nor a class act. This time, his inspiration is from the Steve Martin- John Candy, road film Planes Trains& Automobiles. The story starts off with two men who are as different as chalk and cheese meeting each other and are forced by circumstances to travel from Bhuvaneshwar to Chennai together.

Nallasivam (Kamal) is a grotesque looking blabbermouth whom the savvy and handsome Anbarasu (Madhavan) meets at the Bhuvaneswar airport. Anbarasu is an ad filmmaker, on the way to Chennai to get married and when the flight gets cancelled due to bad weather, he is irritated and frustrated. But when he learns that he has to share a room for the night with Sivam who is crude, never short of advice and conversation, he has no other way but to tolerate him. Anbarasu goes through many crazy situations as his wallet getting stolen, train getting delayed due to derailment etc.
Kamalhassan has taken the role of John Candy in the film and Madhavan handles the savvy act of Steve Martin. The major problem with Anbe Sivam is that somewhere along the line, the script looses track as the superstar bug hits Kamal. In a flashback, the handsome Nallasivam is a left wing Marxist sympathiser, a mock street theatre activist, union leader and a painter (similar to the late Safdar Hashmi?). A dirty capitalist factory Muthalali’s (Naseer) only daughter Bala (Kiran) falls for him at their first meeting itself and he plans to elope with her. But unfortunately Sivam meets with a bus accident and his face is disfigured! And in the climax to cut a short story shorter the audience discover that Anbarasu’s bride is none other than Bala!

The story may seem simple, but the screenplay is awesome and the message that it sends is something people should think about. It doesn't matter whether god is real or not, but the love you show on your fellowmen would make them feel the god in you. This is what the movie conveys. If you happen to watch the movie, do not miss it and listen to the dialouges carefully. Most amazing movie i have ever seen.

Batman - The dark knight - My review

Here is my brief review of The Dark Knight, a real exceptional film of 2008, one of the best....and the movie would never have been complete if it wasn’t for Heath Ledger's gothic and gritty portrayal of The Joker

I don't know where to start my comments from, firstly I watched this movie twice on today's world-wide release. I have to tell you, it's that amazing, spectacular and simply the finest experience you will find of this year. Even the words I put up on this comment won't do justice until you go and watch it yourself.

The sequel sets off the Caped Crusader from the last movie as a man willing to wipe out corruption from Gotham City. But trouble brews ahead as Batman, Harvey Dent and Lt. Jim Gordon encounter a new criminal called the Joker. So with a new crime wave entering Gotham City, the three join forces to rid the town of this menace and chaos. Christian Bale reprises his role as The Dark Knight, the vigilante who uses his own force to rid the criminals of Gotham. His Bruce Wayne and Batman are so fantastically set, that you see a great deal of potential from him. Also coming back to the film Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman make a great supporting cast, especially Oldman who shines a cut above by the end. There is also the role of Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart, the White Knight of Gotham and a D.A. brave enough to bring all the criminals to justice without wearing a mask. All I can say for that is great character development by the end of the movie. Even Maggie Gyllenhaal brings a good job to this movie, her Rachel Dawes is characterized up a notch for this one.

But the one performance you would really have to see the movie for is the late Heath Ledger's interpretation of The Joker. It's stunning, gritty and just out of control. This is how the Joker should be from the comic books, a total mad man leaving behind destruction everywhere. If he gets a posthumous nomination at the Oscars, then he should be a winner. It will captivate you on every memorable scenes.

The action is also notched up, giving us superb sequences, especially a 10 minute action chase scene. Also something to talk about are the out of the box suspense scenes that make it more refreshing than any movie you have seen. The pacing is unnoticeable, you won't feel a minute wasted. The cinematography dark, smoldering and realistic, just wonder how they must have shot it with the IMAX cameras. It makes the city look alive giving a whole new realm to Gotham. The last note I would also want to hit is the music, the eerie score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard is uncompromising, especially the Joker theme.

This is again another perfect film from Christopher Nolan, he surpasses himself growing with each new film, directing it on a challenging level only he can handle. Together the script is well charted by himself, his brother Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer.

I would tell you now to stop reading and go watch the film. It's the year's best, hats off and a thumbs up to Ledger's sadistic act, it's a dark art masterpiece.

Jaane Tu ya Jaane Na

A Boy and a Girl are friends, Boy and Girl are not in Love, Boy meets Girl #2, Girl feels jealous, Girl runs away, Girl gets a fiancé, Boy feels jealous, Boy and Girl realize they are in love, Happy (clichéd) ending

Wait.. Kuch Kuch Hota Hain ? Umm... no.

And what the fork was so realistic in the movie ? Was it the uber-cool Scrabble playing parents? Maybe the fairly standard Innova, flame graphics n' all that almost every college student has these days? Or maybe it was the get-togethers at home complete with an imported DJ, unlimited booze and specialized lighting? WOW !

The movie was made by smart people but it is made for your standard "omgzz imraan is sooo cuuuuteeeeee"-blabbing little girls. CHICK FLICK... and HOW ?! And what's worse is the oh-so-obvious predictability and the total lack of intelligent humor. I mean c'mon, this is an Abbas Tyrewala movie and STILL !!

The Incredible Hulk

Cast : Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, Tim Blake Nelson

Director : Louis Leterrier

The man who turns green with anger is back and he’s as usual big. Yes, the Incredible Hulk. And Eric Bana who played the first Hulk gets replaced by Ed Norton as Hulks’s alter ego scientist Bruce Banner. This time around, a cure for Hulk has been found but the opportunists who dream of abusing his powers won’t leave him alone. While he is still pursuing the woman of his dreams Betty Ross ( Liv Tyler ), the unjolly green giant, in turn, is ruthlessly pursued by the abomination – a nightmarish beast of pure adrenaline and aggression. Hulk has the chance to be the big hero by saving New York. But every glory comes with a price : He has to decide between peaceful life as Bruce Banner or be the hulking hero!

Your kinda homepage - iGoogle

All the local information right on your homepage so that whenever you start your browser you get the latest of information everytime. Doesn't this sound cool? Yes, it is and here is google providing us such a facility and it has named it iGoogle. Though, google has started its concept of "Personalized homepage" late than some other websites, its still a great concept for those who love google. Google provides a lots and lots of gadgets or widgets one would like to have. You can get updates from your favorite websites and add games to your homepage.

Despite these great features, there are also some negatives in iGoogle. As you go on add ing gadgets, it makes you to scroll down to view those gadgets. With tons of gadgets available, it is had to find d gadget one looking for. Google's themes are not great when compared to its rivals such as MyYahoo, Netvibes, Pageflakes etc. There is no option for changing the background of the homepage.

With all the masterminds available with google, if it could compensate these cons, iGoogle would really be a great option for its users.

Narnia Prince Caspian - Movie review

Cast : Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell
Director : Andrew Adamson

The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which was released few years back was a massive hit and here comes the part two of the movie. The kids return to the wonderland via a London tube. When they get into the wonderland, 1300 years have passed by and as usual the baddies have taken on the kingdom. Azlan, the lion has disappeared and King Miraz has forced the legitimate ruler Prince Caspian to flee into the forests. With his magical horn, he manages to call the Pevensies who pick up their swords, don their kingly grab and get down to some adult business. At the same time Lucy goes in search of Azlan while the other kids engage in the fierce battle with the King Miraz's troops. The Prince Caspian's troop was helped by the magical creatures such as talking beaver, rats, dwarfs etc. Finally they defeat the King's troops and return back the kingdom to the prince.

With cutting edge graphics technology available in today no wonder the kingdom looks astonishingly real. With a mix of teen romance, the movie does has the thrills that make us sit on the seat edge. But it has just a fleeting glimpse of the wicked white witch. But still, its summer time and you need a reason to chill out and Narnia gives you the reason. A nice treat for kids this summer.

Madonna - Hard Candy - Review

I have been watching the ad of Madonna's latest album "hard candy" in the tv while watching the ipl. That song really sounded nice and so i just wanted to know how the album is. while i was thinking to buy the album, i got to read the review of the album in the newspaper and here it is.

"The famous singer had lost the plot in her 11th album. She does start off right roping in hitmakers The neptunes, timbaland, nate 'danja' hills, justin... But after two standout tracks - synth infused dance track candy shop and futuristic funky duet 4 minutes with justin - it all starts to sound the same. Give it to me, the next single slated for media blitzkrieg, is an uptempo pop parade while the ballad incredible suffers from sound overkill. By the time kanye west - starrer Beat goes on comes on you have lost interest cos of dejavu... "

so, do i have to buy the album or wat?? Though it costs Rs. 395 here in India, i think i should give it a try atleast for the name "Madonna" !!!

Instinct - will it compete with Apple's iPhone??

So, with nearly a year after the launch of Apple's iPhone, Samsung and Sprint have decided to deliver a competition, the Instinct. The Instinct is bigger in size when compared with iPhone both in height and thickness and uses a resistive display ( iPhone uses capacitive display ). The Instinct provides much more options than iPhone such as mobile broadband, GPS, support for third party applications such as java etc. These may sound interesting but we can only judge how far the Instinct outwits the iPhone only after its launch. So, lets wait for the Instinct.

Apple Macbook Air

" THE WORLD'S THINNEST LAPTOP". The Macbook Air comes out with this title. But how does this mac prerform? is it worth for the money? Here is a sneak peak on to the Macbook Air.
First thing, you notice in the Macbook Air, is its sleek design having a tapering design at the base. No wonder it is the ultimate thinnest lappy. It is light weight weighing around 3 pounds. The full size keyboard with backlight make is easier to work with even in the dark. The touch pad is also quite large and apple has integrated the iphone's gesture based commands to the Air. The processor found in the mac book air is Intel dual core 1.6Ghz processor with 2Gigs of RAM.

But looking at the hype created for Air, the output was a bit disappointing. The Air has got its own limitations such as only one USB port, no card reader, no embedded optical drive, no upgradable RAM etc. And also the battery standby time of the Air is around 3 hours and like the iphone it is also not user serviceable.

Although the mac book air has certain shortcomings, it is certainly the cutest lappy found today. Hope Apple compensates the shortcomings and release a better model in the years to come.