New Delhi, Tuesday June 15, 2010
didyouknow?The term ‘camera’ comes from camera obscura (Latin for “dark chamber”), an early mechanism for projecting images
ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT
The new portal Jantakhoj.com promises to get you connected to everyone in the country. This can even be creepy at times
Debjeet Kundu
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debjeet.kundu@hindustantimes.com
I
t’s kind of creepy if suddenly someone tells you that ‘isn’t your landlord Chaddhaji’, or points out your sister’s date of birth. But that’s exactly what this new portal, www.jantakhoj.com, empowers you with. With a claim to be India’s first and largest people search portal, it is backed by a huge database
of over 300 million Indians. “The sheer size of Indian population makes it difficult to access and search public records for reference,” explains Ajit Gupta, founder & chairman, JantaKhoj as being the reason behind such an initiative. The website throws up infinite search results of a particular person, which one can further scale down by specifying the place, occupation and so on. And though this very extensive nature of the portal is its highlight, it is also a reason for worry for a few. “I was taken aback when my friend asked whether my uncle was in the Defence Services,” says Anoop Ray, a software engineer. “But later, I was told about this site, which gave all the information.” It provides not only contact details of those who are uploading it, but also relatives and neighbours’ listings. “But every information on the website is verified and removable at the providers wish,” assures Tarun Bangari, founder and CEO. “We just want to democratise the background verification process as it promotes greater transparency in society,” he adds. The premium services for individual customers cover background verification of matrimonial candidates, domestic help, drivers and tenants. The services allow the customer to select different applicable checks (address, criminal, education, work experience, driving license, reference) as required.
MARKET WATCH WAKE UP CALL Alan Wake — the new ‘thriller’ on the Sony XBox. We like: This is a thriller on the gaming console rather than other way round. Great narration, backed by some excellent graphic work and soundtrack, this one grips you right from the word go. The supernatural elements are not gross to look at, yet their presence and appearance thrills and chills you even as you fight
for survival. You can always expect something around every bend as you wade through broken bridges and forests. The collectibles on offer are not your lifelines but your only help to live on, and hence, indespensible.The game moves at a great pace with breathers at the right moments. A best-selling author’s journey on the XBox has all the ingredients to become a best-seller in itself. We didn’t like: Criticism for the
PHONE IN A CAMERA The Spice S-1200 mobile phone. We like: A phone with a 12 mega pixel camera with a 3X optical —
heck of it isn’t the norm for us. Probably, its biggest advantage is its only disadvantage. The cinematic way this game moves just carries the player along and sometimes you feel lesser mortal infront of it — as if you have no power to do anything yourself. Go for it? A blockbuster material at Rs 2,399, it’s the standard. And if you are still waiting for us to spell out the verdict — wake up! DEBJEET KUNDU
now that makes you think whether its a phone or a camera! S-1200 is one of the cheapest 12MP camera phones in India. It’s a bundle of
Emotionally yours
Xenon Flash, Multiple Face Detection, Smile Shutter, Anti-
FIFA FEVER
The FIFA backup
T
he FIFA World Cup fever is spreading thick and fast. And if jerseys, boots and other merchandise weren’t enough to flaunt your fan following, now you can even carry it in your pocket — that too as a backup option! The new Amkette World Cup Series Flash Drives not only come in the various jersey colours, but also in their shape. With a 4GB space at Rs 990, you hve ample space to store the Messi videos and Ronaldo wallpapers. HTC
anadian scientists are C developing new software that can measure emotional
reactions to the Web. The new software measures everything in Web users, from body heat to eye movements to facial expressions
and analyses how they relate to online activities. The software will investigate how people react to Web sites, too. Such studies will provide companies with facts on how they can improve online experience. ANI
GO CHECK OUT
Sunlight in your ear
Movies on phone
he new Solar Voice 908 from iTech is the first solar-powered Bluetooth headset that promises a background noise reduction for clarity in phone calls. And the highlight — or ‘sunlight’ — the gadget is charged on exposure to sunlight. Check it out at Rs. 6,499.
or all you movie buffs out there thriving on a diet of world movies, a Blackberry Messenger group is now dedciated to you. In a first time ever initiative on phones, the UTV World Movies group on the messenger will not only enable users to create their own list of favourite movies to be watched, but also ask for recommendations on a particular genre or title. The platform can also be used as a social networking tool where the UTV viewers can share videos, music and photos.
T
‘Tough’ choice
O
lympus ‘Tough’ series cameras promises to be all-weather, shock and waterproof. With additional features like freeze proof, dust proof and crush proof the camera is always said to withstand a 6.6-foot drop, 220 pounds of pressure and 33 feet of water submersion and -10 degree Celsius temperature. We are waiting for someone to actually try these out !
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DEBJEET KUNDU
shake, and AF. Even the lens comes out of its shell as you would expect a normal camera to do. Oops, we have to talk of the phone too, after all that’s what it is. Functionwise, too, it’s quite handy and loaded. It comes with a 2.4 inches display, 70 MB internal memory — 32GB expandable — TV-out, Bluetooth, GPRS/EDGE connectivity, FM radio, audio and video player, Unit Converter, FM recording, photo editor, built-in two JAVA Games.
We didn’t like: But when it comes to weight, it looses it points. Its advance keypad with inbuilt camera options makes typing a mess. The keys are soft but since they are small you end up hitting end/exit while typing messages. Go for it? At Rs 14,500 it seems expensive. But that’s the price you are practically paying for the camera. But even while justifying, the price comes as a touch bit expensive — after all cameras come cheaper than that, and cellphones too. ZABEEH AFAQUE
gadget 05
IN NEWS
Television lovers and soccer fans (L-R) Joel Martinot, Timothy Chan, Hiba Ayache and Joanne Argyrou settle into their chairs as they preview their attempt to watch the World Cup and associated soccer programs continuous for more than 86 hours in an effort to break a world record at a casino in Sydney. The participants each have their own televisions and a comfortable chair for their record attempt that will began Sunday afternoon and will end Thursday, if they successfully break the record PHOTO:AP