Thursday, August 24, 2006

The New Solar System


Astronomers meeting in the Czech capital have voted to strip Pluto of its status as a planet.

About 2,500 experts were in Prague for the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) general assembly.

The scientists rejected a proposal that would have retained Pluto as a planet and brought three other objects into the cosmic club.

Pluto has been considered a planet since its discovery in 1930 by the American Clyde Tombaugh.

The ninth planet will now effectively be airbrushed out of school and university textbooks.

"The eight planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune," said the IAU resolution, which was passed following a week of stormy debate.

Professor Iwan Williams chaired the IAU working group that has been working over recent months to define the term "planet".

"I have a slight tear in my eye today, yes; but at the end of the day we have to describe the Solar System as it really is, not as we would like it to be," the Queen Mary University of London, UK, scientist told the BBC.

The initial proposal put before the IAU to raise the number of planets in the Solar System to 12 - adding the asteroid Ceres, Pluto's "moon" Charon and the distant object known as 2003 UB313 - met with opposition.

Robin Catchpole, of the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge, UK, told the BBC News website: "My own personal opinion was to leave things as they were; I met Clyde Tombaugh and thought how nice it was to shake hands with someone who had discovered a planet.

"But since the IAU brought out the proposal for new planets I had been against it - it was going to be very confusing. The best of the alternatives was to leave the major planets as they are and then demote Pluto. So I think this is a far superior situation."

Louis Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society in California, US, commented: "The classification doesn't matter. Pluto - and all Solar System objects - are mysterious and exciting new worlds that need to be explored and better understood."

Dwarf planet

Amid dramatic scenes which saw astronomers waving yellow ballot papers in the air, the IAU meeting voted through new definition criteria.

They agreed that to qualify as a planet, a celestial body must be in orbit around a star while not itself being a star. It also must be large enough in mass "for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit."

Pluto was automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's.

It will now join a new category of "dwarf planets".

Pluto's status has been contested for many years as it is further away and considerably smaller than the eight other "traditional" planets in our Solar System.

Its orbit around the Sun is also highly inclined to the plane of those big planets.

In addition, since the early 1990s, astronomers have found several objects of comparable size to Pluto in an outer region of the Solar System called the Kuiper Belt.

Some astronomers have long argued that Pluto belongs with this population of small, icy worlds.

Allowances were once made for Pluto on account of its size. At just 2,360km (1,467 miles) across, Pluto is smaller even than some moons in the Solar System. But until recently, it was still the biggest known object in the Kuiper Belt.

That changed with the discovery of 2003 UB313 by Professor Mike Brown and colleagues at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). After being measured with the Hubble Space Telescope, it was shown to be some 3,000km (1,864 miles) in diameter, making it larger than Pluto.

Named after the god of the underworld in Roman mythology, Pluto orbits the Sun at an average distance of 5.9 billion kilometres (3.7 billion miles) taking 247.9 Earth years to complete a single circuit of the Sun.

An unmanned US spacecraft, New Horizons, is due to fly by Pluto and the Kuiper Belt in 2015.

The New Solar System (BBC)

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

SanDisk Sansa™ e200 Series MP3 Players


The Sansa e200 Series MP3 players are the flagship products of SanDisks audio line. Created by the leaders in flash memory, this flash-based player provides everything you need for music, photo, and video clip playback.

The very attractive, sleek design includes a 1.8 TFT color screen with advanced navigational features and an easy to use interface. You can also avoid scratches and cracks with the durable metal backing. The Sansa e200 provides superior sound playback and supports Microsoft PlaysForSure subscription music. The SanDisk Media Converter supports most image formats to enjoy photos and small personal videos.

The Sansa e200 provides a microSD card slot for content portability and additional capacity with your 2GB, 4GB, 6GB or 8GB units.

Ferocious ants bite like a bullet


Trap-jaw ants bite with a force of over 300 times their own bodyweight, new high-speed digital images have shown.

Their jaws spring shut at more than 100 km/h (66mph)- the fastest recorded speed at which an animal can move its body parts.

The pictures also reveal these tiny creatures, native to Central and South America, do more with their vicious jaws than simply giving a nasty nip.

By biting the ground, the ants hurl themselves upwards when danger looms.

A frosty reception

Uninvited visitors to a nest of trap-jaw ants can expect a vicious response.

The ants are named after their characteristically long jaws, which they use to hurl unfamiliar neighbours from their nests, cripple prey, or deliver a brutal bite to anything they consider a threat.

Employing the same high-speed imaging methods as those used to film flying bullets, an American research team now show that the jaws can move at exceptional speeds.

"This is really by far and away the fastest recorded animal limb movement" said lead researcher Sheila Patek, of the University of California, Berkeley, who worked with ants from Costa Rica.

"The ants' jaws are relatively short, but they deliver such a powerful bite because they can accelerate so quickly. It's simple physics."

Airborne antics

The new findings, reported this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also explain why the ants sometimes bounce into the air when they bite.

"If they bite something which is too hard to be crushed or thrown back by their jaws, the impact tosses them upwards" said Dr Andy Suarez of the University of Illinois, a co-author in the study.

This recoil effect propels the biter onto a brief, haphazard flight which ends in a crash landing several centimetres away.

Such a chaotic journey might seem uncomfortable, but the ants are simply too light to be injured by their misadventures. In fact, Dr Patek and her team have now shown that the ants sometimes perform the flights voluntarily.

A new way to move

By biting the hard ground, rather than another animal, the ants can propel themselves skyward whenever the need arises.

The impact throws their tiny bodies upwards. In effect, the ants are using their enormous bite force as a means to suddenly take off.

This novel way to move may help them to escape predators such as lizards, which attack very quickly and would not be discouraged by a simple bite.

The popcorn-effect of many ants jumping at once might also serve to confuse attackers.

"The results show us the surprising and interesting ways in which a single mechanical system can be co-opted for such different behaviours," says Dr Patek.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Charmone Shoes


Where style conscious meets social conscience. Elegant shoes, handmade in Italy that are:

• Animal-Free
• Environmentally-Friendly
• Sweatshop-Free

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Prothonotary Warbler


The Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is the only member of the genus Protonotaria.

The Prothonotary Warbler is 13 cm long and weighs 12.5 g. It has an olive back with blue-grey wings and tail, yellow underparts, a relatively long pointed bill and black legs. The adult male has a bright orange-yellow head; females and immature birds are duller and have a yellow head.

It breeds in hardwood swamps in southern Canada and the eastern United States, nesting in a cavity, sometimes using old Downy Woodpecker holes. The male often builds several incomplete unused nests in his territory; the female builds the real nest. It winters in the West Indies, Central America and northern South America.

The preferred foraging habitat is dense, woody streams, where the Prothonotary Warbler forages actively in low foliage, mainly for insects and snails.

The song of this bird is a loud repeated tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet.

These birds are declining in numbers due to loss of habitat. They are also parasitized by the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater), or outcompeted for nest sites by the House Wren (Troglodytes aedon).

This bird was named after officials in the Roman Catholic Church known as the protonotarii, who wore golden robes. The spy Alger Hiss is known to have seen a Prothonotary Warbler.

Cancer: The facts


One in three of us will be diagnosed with cancer during our life.

The disease tends to affect older people - but can strike at any time.

Excluding certain skin cancers, there were more than 270,000 new cases of the disease in 2001 - and the rate is increasing by about 1% a year.

Some cancer, such as breast, are becoming more common, while new cases of lung cancer fall away due to the drop in the number of smokers.

However, while the overall number of new cancers is not falling, the good news is that successful treatment rates for many of the most common types are improving rapidly.

Afraid of the dark? You will be


The Descent is a British horror film, written and directed by Neil Marshall. It was released on the 8 July 2005, having premiered at the Dawn Horror Film Festival on 6 July 2005. It has received a cinematic release in Ireland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Argentina, Canada, and in the United States. It was both a commercial and critical success, with box office receipts from the UK alone totalling over £2,600,000 and receiving very positive reviews from many critics. As of August 2006, a sequel is being penned.

Diary of a Rape Victim after her Death

What They Said:

Rape me, my friend
Rape me, again
I am not the only one – Nirvana

Death: How It Felt:

Today is the fourth day from my death as I was shot dead on December 24, 2004 in Gujranwala, the heartland of Punjab – the land of five rivers, joy, happiness and above all, honor! I still can see my father holding me in his arms trying to stop the bleeding from my neck, chest, lower abdomen and my back. His eyes are dry. He is horrified. He cannot cry. He is yelling around for help – none comes. None even tries to form the usual circle that I used to always criticize for people had so much time to waste. Today, no one is willing to waste his or her time on a dying young girl.

I feebly turn my neck on my right side and there I see my rapists – all four of them – standing triumphantly, nagging with smiles on their faces and touting their guns. And then, one after the other, they start to run. Disappear. At large.

I look at my Abbu again. “You are the greatest Abbu and forgive me for my stupidities,” I tell him. I now see tears welling up in his eyes. “I am in great pain Abbu Ji,” I say. “I love you Abbu,” I tell him and he hugs me and cajoles my head.

I can hear the loud speakers of the mosque spreading the word of Allah. Allah-o-Akbar...Allah-o-Akbar...

Thank God. At once, I am feeling no pain for the pain is so piercing that it has numbed my senses to feel anything. The world is getting blurrier. The haze is soft but it’s getting darker. Even the glare of a shining sunny day doesn’t bother me and I turn my eyes to meet my father’s. Now, he’s crying. I smile. Touch his face. Wipe his tears. Close my eyes and feel the freedom. At last, I am free from all pains. An unbearable lightness engulfs me. I smile with joy as I look around, yet again. I am finally dead and it’s the Freedom of Death. Thank God!

Who I Am:

My name is Aisha. I am the only daughter of my parents. A naughty but caring sister of five brothers. All older than I. In a society where women are divorced or at times, burnt alive for not producing sons, my mother had a different story altogether. She was under severe criticism and pressure for not bearing a daughter. “Your father warned me that he wanted to have a daughter this time,” my mother, Amna, used to tell me. “He was so happy when he saw you and I felt secure,” my mother cuddled me while combing my hair on the Holy day of Friday.

As I grew up, I discovered that it was all about security for females if they were to grow up. Security of mother when I was very little and then father. As I reached my puberty, the brothers became guards. I could have no independence or freedom. I even couldn’t go alone to get myself a cone-icecream from the corner shop in Satellite Town market. “We are a Mashraqi (Eastern) society and we are Sayyeds. Our women do not go out alone. It is the duty of the men of the household to protect our women,” my father told me once I protested this over-protection on his part. All my protests went in vain whenever I raised my concerns and voiced my frustration for not being allowed to go and meet my friends, pick up the phone, watch the late Saturday night cinema movie on PTV or sit in the sun on the terrace. At times I also felt special for all of them took such a great care of me. I would often tease, Abu Bakar, my eldest brother at late in the night to get me a course book, a pen or a copy for my college use. He would always smile back and his eyes spoke, “I know Aashee you have none else to tease. Alright, I shall get you in a minute or two.” And he would.

I was a brilliant student from the very beginning and claimed good remarks from my teachers and position in my class. I won scholarships in my fifth and eighth grades and topped the whole educational division in my tenth grade. I was the star of the eyes of my family. All loved me and I loved them all. All cared about me and I cared for them all. I could see the soul of my family running in my body and all laughed when I giggled. All had sullen faces when I was sick. I was the joy of my family. All of my brothers came to me to get their things done by Abbu for he could never say no to me. He loved me so special and yes, I at times misused it too. I tell you all that there’s nothing more special in this world than the relationship between a father and his daughter.

There always was an eternal discussion about my future. My mother wanted to marry me off at the age of 18. My father wanted me to complete my education and become a lecturer while my elder brother had plans for me to go abroad and study fashion and arts. He was aware of my passion for colors. The younger to him wanted me to become a doctor while the youngest thought that I could do miracles in acting (he suffered the most of my maneuvering and was perpetually destined to transport me here and there for my needs!).

In short we were a not-so-small but very happy family.

My College Days:

Yes. I admit that the college gave me a certain freedom and exposure. By that time I was grown up and understood the world from the eyes of a girl nearing womanhood. I was aware of my beauty but it never went to my head. I was just an ordinary girl who wanted to eat Gol-Gappay during recess, bunk the classes at times to nibble the chana-chat of Baba that stood outside of our gate. The biggest luxury I used to avail of was the excuse that I had fever if I ever wanted to miss the college. It mainly happened in winters.

Despite all the casual attitude with education, I startled all with my dazzling success in my first year’s terminals and claimed first position in Gujranwala board. I was well on my way to become what I wanted to be: a painter!

My best friend in college was Maria. She was also a stunner but was as casual as I was. We were like sisters and both had great wit. Very few would dare to nag or tease us. If I failed, Maria would always have a befitting reply.

I was also aware of the sense that people’s eyes conveyed to me but I never looked around. Boys and men will toss their words to me but I never stopped to respond. My whole universe was limited to my home, the street and road I gazed during my walk to college for I never raised my eyes to look around but I enjoyed the freedom in college: I could walk, run, laugh, tickle, scream, shout, crack jokes and above all, I COULD look around. I strictly observed the code of conduct that a Sayyed girl should follow. I was fully conscious of the sense of honor of my family and I always preserved that.

My Rapists:

I swear on Holy Quran, I swear on the heads of my caring father and loving mother that I didn’t know any of them. I never saw them anywhere around for I never raised my eyes. On the Holy Day of Friday on December 10, two of them hounded me and all I could recall was that a big van stopped by my side and a person from inside firmly clutched my arm and dragged me while on of the two outside the wagon pushed me inside. In a matter of seconds, I was kidnapped from a busy street in Gujranwala’s Satellite Town.

None of the honorable men around me came to my rescue.

The wagon drove off and brought me to the outskirts. I couldn’t place which place that was. I was terrified. I was scared. I was cautious – not for my life but for the honor of my family. I could sense what these four men were upto. “You have sisters and I am also a sister of somebody. Let me go please,” I begged them. But they just laughed and laughed nastily. I pleaded, begged and requested them repeatedly and inquired about my fault. I tried to quote from Quran, Hadith and Sunnah to suggest how a good Muslim should behave. They just laughed.

The day ended quickly. Night befell and they raped me.

They kept raping me.

My body soon became numb to the disgust I felt each time they ravaged me and I felt nothing but my soul got crushed every time. I found my self blown-up in trillion pieces never ever to be brought together again.

My Rescuers:

Though I couldn’t keep tracking the days and nights that went by but it was again the Holy Day of December 17 when I was rescued from these men. Three of them were at that abandoned place when the fourth came running and told them that he’d been informed that police would raid this place. Soon after that, they packed up and ran away. I thought, they should have killed me there and then but they were not even that good to do that. They left me alive. Police came. I was rescued. Was I really?

Back in Family and More:

Only my eldest brother and my father coaxed me and asked me to keep my courage high. The other four brothers and my mother just wept and kept weeping. They dressed my spirits. They pampered my soul. They all supported me for it was not a mistake of mine.

My brother, Abu Bakar, hired a lawyer and filed the case. The perpetrators were arrested within two days and got bailed out in next two. I underwent the medical examination and the lawyer informed us that the first hearing of the case along with the medical-legal evidence would be held in Gujranwala District Court on the Holy Day of Friday on Dec 24, 2004.

It was just before the Jumma (Friday) Prayer and I was getting off the car with Abbu to enter the court area. I was standing by the car and Abbu was locking it. All I could hear was a bang, then another, and another and yet another and a shattering pain ran through my body and my soul. I saw blood coming out of my neck and saw my while shirt and shalwar fast turning red. I collapsed and my father screamed feverishly and came running to me and held me in his arms and shouted for help, which he couldn’t get.

I could feel the life draining out of me. I could seen the numbness prevailing upon me. I went beyond the boundaries of pain. I could see the horror in the eyes and on the face of my Abbu. How he had loved me and cuddled me. He had dreams for me to become a lecturer.

Have I failed him?

I also look at my ravagers. See them smiling and running away.

In a fraction of a moment I realized that I was going to die.

I look at my Abbu again. “You are the greatest Abbu and forgive me for my stupidities,” I tell him. I now see the tears welling up in his eyes. “I am in great pain Abbu Ji,” I say. “I love you Abbu,” I tell him and he hugs me and cajoles my head.

I can hear the loud speakers of the mosque spreading the word of Allah. Allah-o-Akbar...Allah-o-Akbar...

Death: It Has a Better Side Too:

Now I am free from all pains and restrictions. I can act like an “ordinary girl-soul” with no fears of reprimand.

And of course, none can rape me after death.

My honor in death is safe.

Footnote: It’s based on a true story when a girl was kidnapped, raped and killed in Gujranwala in front of her father’s eyes. She could have been anybody...even my own sister!!!

Cool Off


Two tigers at China's Hongshan Forest Zoo take a dip to cool off as temperatures climb to 37C (98.6F)

Microsoft Zune: Pros and Cons



Let’s face it: Microsoft’s Zune has to be brilliant to compete with Apple’s iPod series. Apple has managed over the years to get a huge customer base for their iPod portable media players, and even though there are other alternatives they really don’t seem to be making a dent in Apple’s stronghold. Will the Zune change that? Depends on just how good it is.

The Pros

- WiFi: This is a big one, something I think Apple should have put into its newest models. Sure, it’s not that hard to put in a USB cable, but why would you want to if you don’t need it? It also keeps you from having to carry a cable around if you want to sync up with your laptop; one less thing to keep in your pockets.

- XM Radio: The WiFi antenna also will help Microsoft to support XM radio on the Zune, something they’ve been looking into. If Zune is to kill the iPod, they need something big that the iPod doesn’t have; this may or may not be it, but they’ll need all the firepower they can get. With the iPod lacking even an FM radio, this could be a big advantage.

- Windows Media Player: If you’re on a Windows PC, you probably have Windows Media Player, and your iPod doesn’t work with it. Zune (being made by Microsoft) is designed specifically for WMP; in fact, it won’t work in iTunes at all (depending on your player preference this could actually be a problem for you). The Zune will also be tailored to work with WMP’s new URGE music and video download service, co-created by MTV.

- Optimized for video content: It’s pretty clear when I look at my iPod that it’s designed to be used primarily for audio, not video. Which is fine for my purposes, but portable video is getting more popular, and Zune is brand new, meaning it’s built from the ground up to excel at video playback. The bigger screen should help immensely. Hopefully the battery life in video playback won’t be as disappointing as iPod’s two hours.

The Cons

- It’s not the iPod: Sadly enough, a lot of people buy an iPod just because it’s an iPod, and all their friends have one. Personally I bought mine because, after doing my research, I found it best suited my needs, but a lot of others don’t. Even if Zune turns out better than iPod, there will still be the “fanboys” that stick with their iPod.

- Price, price, price! One of the biggest complaints against the iPod is that it’s too expensive for what you get out of it. But the 30GB Zune will be $399 at launch, which is $100 more than the 30GB iPod. If Microsoft wants to sell a lot of these, they’ll want to make the price more competitive. Even if the extra features are worth the price, $400 or $500 won’t be in as many consumers’ price ranges.

Partition 1947


In 1947, the border between India and its new neighbour Pakistan became a river of blood, as the exodus erupted into rioting. Over 10 million people were uprooted from their homeland and travelled on foot, bullock carts and trains to their promised new home.

Dolce & Gabbana's Gold Motorola RAZR V3i


The editors at Mobileburn got their bloggy little mitts on a Dolce & Gabbana Gold Moto RAZR V3i. They've a whole pornographic gallery of them molesting it, the dirty perverts. The phone is like the non-bling V3i, meaning it's like an old RAZR, with a 1.2 megapixel camera.

BenLo, Gizmodo's new intern, proved his worth by digging up this link to Motorola's online store, where the Gold Moto can be bought for $600 dollars. For that price, the phone comes with a D&G charm (oh goody.) But what's this? It's also unlocked, so you can use it with any carrier.

Nokia N73

The Nokia N73 is officially described as a "multimedia computer". The camera on the N73 is one of its key selling points, and together with the screen and software is where you find the biggest changes compared to previous S60 phones such as the N70 or Nokia 6680. The current model supports GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 as well as UMTS 2100. The phone can also communicate with Bluetooth and IR. Lastly, it has a slot for MiniSD memory cards.
The camera is hidden behind a spring loaded cover which when opened will automatically activate the camera application. The camera is 3.2 megapixels with Carl Zeiss optics and integrated LED flash; crucially it also has an auto focus function and a manual shutter. Auto focus should help improve close up shots, and the manual shutter allows for sharper shots of moving subjects. This should give excellent results and first indications are that the N73 out does the N90 which means for many it will be acceptable as their only camera. Video capture at 15 fps and CIF (352 x 288) resolution is also supported which while not as good as the N93 should suffice for capturing memories. The on board Camera application has been updated and it is no longer necessary to navigate menu to change settings, instead a series of on screen icons allow you to make quick changes similar to a stand alone digital camera. On the right hand side of the phone there are dedicated shutter and zoom keys (digital only) for taking photos. The intention is that you hold the phone on its side as you would a standard camera and use the screen which is in landscape orientation as the view finder. The shutter button can be partially depressed to activate the auto focus functionality. The phone also comes with built in editing software to modify pictures and videos, such as cropping, resizing, red eye removal, adding text, changing the brightness and other functions.
The phone also comes loaded with a bunch of other software applications, including contacts, messaging, picture and video galleries, a music player, a visual FM radio, Real Player, an IM client, a WAP browser, an Office viewer, a PDF viewer, some games, and the brand new Nokia web browser, which allows users to view web pages in their native form, by scrolling with the joystick around the page. Java applications as well as Symbian (v3) applications can be installed on the phone.

Fedora Wireless Woes

I was called to do a contract job on converting an office's computers to the Linux-based Operating System, Fedora Core. As part of the job, I had to install a PCI Wireless Network Card, specifically a Linksys WMP54G, on Fedora Core.

So, thinking that it couldn't be that difficult, I set about plugging the PCI Card in, and booting into Fedora's Gnome Desktop. Okay, I don't see the familiar new hardware found dialog, or anything like it. Turns out that the drivers for the PCI Card were not compatible at first, unless I used the Linuxant Driverloader, which gave a 30-day trial. After a bit of messing around (Three days worth), the drivers were finally installed, and the wireless interface, eth1, was detected within the system.

Thanks to some help of friends, I got as far as the drivers, but no further, because for some strange reason, the terminal would not show a Network Connected signal. Add in another day of troubleshooting, only to realize that KDE had a wifi configuration manager called kwifimanager. I switched to KDE, launched the manager, and was happy to see a usable User Interface with FIND NETWORK in a big button, and any network details on the right. Anticipating a change of my luck, I clicked FIND NETWORK, only to be told that No Networks could be found within range, yet my Windows XP Laptop was sitting besides the Fedora Core computer and I was browsing away on Wifi, with a signal strength of Very Good.

Smelling a rat, I switched to the backup hard disk with XP Pro, made sure the wireless PCI Card was plugged in, and sure enough, in less then two minutes flat, XP had installed the drivers for the card, with no need for the CD that came with the wireless adapter, as well as detecting the office network, and asked me to key in the passphrase. In another five seconds, Google was on the screen. All this took less then two minutes, and told me that there was something wrong with Fedora since it couldn't detect the wireless network where XP did.

Of course, you can argue, Microsoft has loads of market share, developers, and professionals, it is not a community driven project like Linux is, and as a side effect, it is not as user friendly. But this is the very reason why so many users prefer to use Windows. And I'm relatively sure some of the comments here will be Linux users blasting me for my ineptness with Linux which is why I'm having so much problems. But the point boils down to a fact if a general computer user like me has trouble installing and working on Linux, what is to say any other computer user will be able to work Linux without self-learning or a manual book?

Telenor Pakistan Receives ITCN’s ‘Best Stall’ Award

Telenor Pakistan's state-of-the-art stall at ITCN was given ITCN Asia 2006's 'Best Stall' award. The conference and exhibition was a huge success for Telenor Pakistan, where thousands of guests engaged in fun-filled activities and got a chance to meet their favorite celebrities.

Commenting on Telenor Pakistan's participation at ITCN, Sigvart Voss Erikson, Chief Marketing Officer Telenor Pakistan said: "We are extremely pleased with the overwhelming response Telenor Pakistan received at ITCN from dignitaries and the general public. Everyone showed great interest in our products and services." The 'Best Stall' award was also extended to three other cellular operators participating in ITCN Asia 2006.

As the Diamond sponsor of ITCN Asia 2006 Telenor Pakistan's stall, centrally located at the Expo Center, was visited by Dr Hafeez Sheikh – Former Federal Minister of Privatization and Maj. Gen (R) Shahzada Alam Malik – Chairman PTA. Both dignitaries appreciated Telenor Pakistan's contribution and showed keen interest in the state-of-the-art stall. Specifically designed for the event, the stall was a beautiful fusion of aesthetics and technology.

The highlight of Telenor Pakistan's activities was Ali Zafar's charged singing performance at the stall, which had the entire crowd singing to the star's tunes. Visitors were also entertained by other celebrities like Jamal Shah, Assam ul Haq, Marina Khan, Mani, Natasha, Aroh, Shalim Xavier, Faisal Qazi, Warzafi, Sajid & Zeeshan. Customers were given a chance to win Dubai tickets & high-tech cell phones by engaging in exciting activities. Visitors were eager to learn about Telenor Pakistan's newly launched EDGE technology - an advanced high-speed mobile internet and data service, 4 times faster than GPRS. Guests and visitors were impressed by the company's many products, offering more value for money to different types of customers.

ITCN Asia is a one-stop meeting place for companies and their potential vendors of IT-related products. It's a 3-day exhibition in which the Asian IT professionals come up with their best offers for markets around the globe. The exhibition sets forth a grand opportunity for licensing agreements, creating joint ventures and localizing the products. Through this exhibition, the brand awareness of products can be created in markets around the world. It also aids in creation of long lasting business relationships with leading dealers, distributors and resellers. Consequently, every year this exhibition benefits numerous companies and vendors.

The Telenor group is an international provider of high quality telecommunications, data and media communication services. Telenor ranks as one of the biggest GSM service providers in the world with over 96 million subscribers. Telenor Pakistan is 100% owned by Telenor ASA and adds on to its operations in Asia together with Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh.

Thought about you . . .

All day long I thought about you
Even when I tried not to think about you
I thought about you
When I closed my eyes
I thought about you
When I opened my eyes
I thought about you

When I thought about the beauty of the season
I thought about you
When I thought about the
Warmth of the upcoming holidays
I thought about you

When I heard a love song, on the radio
I thought about you
Even when I said good night to the stars
I thought aabout you

And when I slipped beneath the softness of my blanket
And gave in to the bliss of sweet dreams
I thought about you

I just can't stop thinking about you . . .

Monday, August 14, 2006

I Will....

My heart sank . . .

My heart sank, in those brown eyes
Just know this my Love
I am a lover, I am crazy
I will do anything for you
I live for you and Die for you

I will Kill, get killed just for you
I will win your heart
I will never leave you along
No matter how much you make me suffer

One day my love
You will love me
The whole world will see
I will take you away

I am a lover, I am crazy, I am mad
I will do anything for you.