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The Hindu :

Women, the preservers of memories in most homes, drive photo-sharing website snapfish.com

Seventy-five million users, five billion photos uploaded in 22 countries worldwide.

Hewlett Packard’s snapfish.com, one of the leading digital photo-sharing websites internationally, has a very simple formula for its success — reaching out to women. “Worldwide, 85 per cent of our users are women, and the pattern holds true in India as well,” says Bala Parthasarathy, Managing Director-Asia Pacific and Latin America, and co-founder of the website.

When he and three other friends first founded the website in Silicon Valley in 1999 (at the peak of the dotcom bubble), the online picture-sharing field was already crowded, with over 130 players. But there was one fundamental difference in the way snapfish.com approached the business, says Bangalore-based Parthasarathy.Different model

While others considered digital photography the domain of men (read techies and geeks), snapfish.com focussed on women users. “What we realised was that women are the primary photo-takers, especially in young families,” he comments. “They are the preservers of memories, the ones who create and save family albums.”

Even as most of those 130 competitors fell by the wayside, snapfish.com continued to grow, and was acquired by IT giant Hewlett Packard in 2005. The website entered Indian waters in 2007, and has already racked up about three lakh users in India since then. “Usage patterns in India are slightly more skewed towards men, but our research shows that women are still driving the process. They’re the ones saying, ‘Have you uploaded the pictures?’,” says Parthasarathy. The other difference in digital picture-sharing trends in India is the relative number of people using their cell phones to take and upload their pictures.

Dramatic changes

Uploading pictures online to snapfish.com or its more recent competitors such as flickr.com from your cell phone is already pretty straightforward with any mobile with a data connection. With 3G — the next generation…More

The Hindu : y>

STRIKING It sure is going to be fun watching a cat and dog with the same body and different heads!

Nick will showcase CatDog on weekdays at 4.30 p.m. The show premiers today on Nick. The show revolves around the life of a cat and a dog with a unique twist: they are connected to each other literally. They share one body and have extremely diverse personalities. The cat is very cultured and obsessive over cleanliness and money, while the dog is fun-loving. Catch all their adventures only on Nick, Monday to Friday.

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The Hindu :

Trudge past green fields and wade through dense thickets in charming Delft

Photo: K. SrikrishnaVerdant country The tranquillity of Delft sinks into one’s very being

I’m hanging onto dear life climbing up a steep staircase with rickety banisters. I have to hold onto the next step with my hands before I get on it. My friend Marcel makes it look easy as he quickly climbs the stairs carrying a toddler in his arms. We’re inside a working windmill and it’s our first day in the charming town of Delft.

On reaching the top, I get my first aerial view of the town. The gently rotating blades of the windmill frame the canals lined with red brick houses below.

Delft, located in southern Holland between Rotterdam and the Hague, is a text book university town. Famous for its eponymous porcelain and pottery, it seems like a stretched canvas of gentle blue hues and students riding bicycles in the foreground. This is Vermeer country — immortalised by Johannes Vermeer inhis beautiful paintings using the streets and houses of Delft as background.

My husband draws my attention to the Oude Kerk (Old Church) with its clock tower looming over the old town. We quickly climb down, intent on exploring the rest of Delft.

Much to our delight, a weekend fair is on in the lanes surrounding the Oude Kerk. Blue porcelain plates vie with embroidered bags, t-shirts and other bric-a-brac on sale in narrow alleys. There’s a sense of bonhomie in the air as backpacking students and tourists amble their way looking at the wares.

A couple of old Dutch women walk briskly past me smiling, the clickety-clack of their clogs music to my ears.Grassy banks

My daughters are keen to buy the hand-painted Delft tiles depicting a seascape motif but I desist after a look at the prices.

By now, Marcel’s young children have started fidgeting and we gratefully settle…More

The Hindu : y>

In this episode of “Jailed Abroad”on National Geographic, catch the story of 19-year-old Jim and Paul who wanted to escape their dead-end jobs and gloomy existence in England.

The duo craved for more adventure and spice in their lives, which ultimately resulted in a major disaster and landed them in prison in Venezuela, thousands of miles away from home. Their lives change when they meet an old friend during a night of pubbing, who promises them an opportunity to lead a good life, provided the duo get back a package from Venezuela.

Catch their stories on “Jailed Abroad” at 10 p.m. tonight on Nat Geo. Watch Jim and Paul’s carving for an adventure, turning into their worst nightmare.

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The Hindu :

The Summer Duo — French flautist Yohann Egret and classical guitarist Shyamanth Behal — enthralled the audience

Photo: Murali Kumar. KConfident execution The duo performed some of the challenging compositions with finesse

One is a Frenchman who blows into a simple metal pipe with holes; the other is an Indian who plucks a wooden box with strings.Coming from totally diverse backgrounds, cultures and languages, these two maestros masterfully blend together the flute and the guitar melting away all the differences.

French flautist Yohann Egret and classical guitarist Shyamanth Behal were in the city recently at a recital organised byAlliance Françaiseand The Bangalore School of Music.

Calling themselves the ‘Summer Duo’, they began the concert with Tango by a piece by French composer Erik Marchelie. The guitar’s mild bass plucking accompanied by the flute’s tenor notes filled the serene atmosphere enthralling the audience with soul-stirring music.

Masterfully balancing silence with harmonics, the duo performed a four-piece suite called Buenos Aires by Argentine classical guitarist and composer Máximo Diego Pujol.Repertoire of notes

The suite wasflawlessly delivered with rapid scale progressions and powerful harmonic movements; each piece a repertoire of notes by itself. Expertly playing the western concert flute,Egret presented a solo composed by French composer Eugène Bozza called Image. A flute professor in France,the 30-year old flautistis a gold medallist in flute, music theory, and chamber music at the National Conservatory of Toulouse and the first prize winner in flute at the National Conservatory of Versailles. Plucking his classical guitar effortlessly,Behal delivered his solo titled, ‘Guajira’ by Spanish classical guitarist and composer Emilio Pujol. Playing the guitar since the age of 14, Behal continued his music education and studied under Geneviève Chanut at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris after which he received a Diplome d’Execution with felicitations from the jury. A regular performer at concerts organised by the Delhi School of Music, this Assamese native…More

The Hindu :

Jack & Jones on 100 ft Road, Indiranagar, stocks up trendy wear for men and women

Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.Brimming with designs Choose from a range of ragged-look jeans, stylish shirts and accessories

It’s not just sales but the city seems to be adding more stores to its already exploding seam line. The latest to join the bandwagon is the one-month-old store called Jack & Jones on 100 ft Road, Indiranagar.

The store offers a 5,300 sq ft area with styles for men and women.The ground floor is brimming with some trendy designs in denims and cottons for men.

As the worn out look is in, the store offers a range of jeans with the torn and ragged look priced at Rs. 2,625. The jeans look so worn and are priced so high that an old conventional heart would rather buy a sleek new pair . But the display is very interesting the jeans are tied to vehicle tyres that hang from the ceiling, making the ambience young,trendy and unconventional.

There is a section called Jean Intelligence, which offers t-shirts for Rs. 795, jackets in rexin and jackets with hoods inpurple, cream and black. There are also ankle length canvas shoes priced at Rs. 3,275.

The people at the store explain that slim fits arein and hence there are many jeans that come in this particular style. The premium vintage collection offers semi-formal shirts and formals that start at Rs. 2,625.Besides,there areaccessories such asbelts.

The first floor is exclusively for women or rather girls and that too only for those with sleek bodies. Every design in this section screams out that they arefor the young. The skirts are shorter and the neck lines are deeper. Your jaws drop lower as you pass every section. You think aloud whether the designs are too Western and you get the reply: “Actually there are many girls who have loved our…More

The Hindu : y>Here are some ways to take in the beauty of Queensland

Sand and sea Visit Queensland for a great vacation

There are some unforgettable ways to explore the beauty of Queensland — from the Outback to the Great Barrier Reef and rainforest — from the air. Take your pick from planes, hot air balloons, swinging through the rainforest canopy and even sky diving!

There’s plenty happening behind the scenes at Queensland’s favourite theme parks, animal sanctuaries and other popular entertainment venues. And, you can spend special time with animals, go behind the stage in a theatre, learn animal training tips, and more.

For instance, The Butterfly Sanctuary ( www.australianbutterflies.com) launches a “behind-the-scenes” lab tour. The Animal Adventures programme at Sea World (http://seaworld.myfun.com.

au/attractions/

animal-adventures.htm) on the Gold Coast offers the Dolphin Trainer for the Day programme. You can also save wildlife at Australia Zoo’s Animal Hospital ( http://www.wildlifewarriors.org.au/wildlife_hospital/), a vision of the late Steve Irwin. At the Queensland Performing Arts Centre ( http://www.qpac.com.au/at_qpac/guided_tours/), discover what happens behind the scenes on the stages of Brisbane’s premier entertainment venue. . You can also pat a Dreamworld tiger ( www.dreamworld.com.au).

One of the most magical and awe-inspiring experiences at popular Gold Coast theme park Dreamworld is taking a morning stroll within arm’s length of a fully grown tiger.

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The Hindu : y>What is it about reality TV that really makes us bite, wonders BINDU TOBBY. Is it the shock appeal, the guilt-free eavesdropping or some outlet for all the accumulated stress of the day?

Photo: PTIINSECURE LOT Are we becoming a generation that is obsessed with snooping?

A not so suave, not so chic and (oh) not-so-classy actress wants to make her choice of spouse public on Indian telly. A scruffy old spinster who (probably has been singing to her pet cat all her life) with her shockingly melodious rendition, shakes out the last ounce of cynicism from a prejudiced audience. A spoilt-rich heiress who mingles with the commoners doing their mundane everyday chores. And of course, India’s almost un-real moments of truth.

What is it about reality TV that is so enticing and entertaining to us? Is it the shock appeal, the cheap thrill from guilt-free eavesdropping on someone’s (supposedly) personal conversation, or the entertainment factor from being clandestine witness to someone else’s secretly ‘public’ behaviour? Or could these shows just be punching bags for us to vent it all out on – something and someone to poke fun at and abuse at the end of a stressful day?

You will rarely find someone who admits they love reality TV. And yet we all watch these shows. Because, there are times, when we’ve connected with it. Being emotionally overwhelmed by a young girl dance so gracefully; having goose bumps watching a geeky looking guy transform himself sporting a renewed confidence, reversing everything that his life was about; reliving our worst fears along with participants who’ve garnered the last sinew of bravado and clutching onto that creeping reptile overcome that life-long fear; or being amused at bachelors and spinsters who are willing to go to great lengths to prove their love.

Says Priya Kilpady: “I like shows like American Idol that encourage talent, but I cannot stand…More

The Hindu : y>

The drought situation in the country is fairly alarming, with the Government admitting that more than half the country faces drought like conditions. The bad rainfall and an inadequate Public Distribution System (PDS) have resulted in increased prices of essentials like dal and sugar, which has impacted the food habits of people across the country. We ask city residents about their take on the failed monsoons and the reasons for the rise in prices of essential commodities. Most of them felt that though the drought may impact food production in the long run, a corrupt and inefficient public distribution system and hoarders are responsible for the situation, resulting in prices of essential commodities like dal to hit the roof.

Many feel that the need of the hour is to ensure that the PDS is improved and made more efficient. The system must be overhauled and strict action must be taken against hoarders to ensure that prices are not raised artificially.

They felt that exports of all essential commodities must be ceased with immediate effect, till the situation improves for the better. We sample some responses

The food crisis is indeed scary and is a result of the inefficient and corrupt public distribution system that has resulted in millions of tonnes of food grains going to waste. The government must overhaul the PDS systems and take immediate steps to correct the deficit.

SrinidhiArchitect

This situation has been created by an inept and corrupt administration that has not taken adequate measures to control the prices of essentials. The PDS system must be overhauled immediately and exports must be stopped until the crisis blows over.

DeepakArchitect

Corrupt officials and black marketers are responsible for this horrible situation. The need of the hour is to take steps to correct the anomalies that exist in the PDS system and take strict action against hoarders and black marketers.

SrinivasEngineer

The rise in food prices has…More

The Hindu : y>Sample Thai fare and learn to cook them at an expo

Atrade expo, “Amazing Taste of Thailand”, will be held between September 25 to 27 in Bangkok.

It is jointly organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Department of Export Promotion, Thai Hotels Association, Association of Domestic Travel, and Thai Restaurant Association.

The show, to be held at Central World, will include exhibitions of Thai cuisine and food products from all four regions of Thailand.

It will also provide trade visitors a chance to do business.For details, visitwww.tatnews.org

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