Star Trek

J.J. Abrams has done it yet again. His rendition of the cult sci-fi phenomenon, Star Trek is nothing short of brilliant!
The Star Trek fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry includes six television series including the original 1966 Star Trek, and eleven feature films. The franchise also extends to dozens of computer and video games, hundreds of novels and instances of fan fiction, several fan-created video productions, as well as a themed attraction in Las Vegas.
The 11th movie in the colossal Star Trek franchise is a prequel depicting the origins of the original crew of the USS Enterprise from the 1960s TV series albeit the movie focuses primarily on the back-stories of the captain, James T. Kirk (chris Pine) and his first officer, Spock (zachary Quinto). The other crew members include Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban), Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (Siomon Pegg), Pavel Chekov(Anton Yelchin) and Hikaru Sulu (John Cho).
The movie is in essence a reboot induced by a time travel accident involving a Romulan, Captain Nero(Eric Bana) and an elderly Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Although Time Travel is not necessarily a spectacularly original concept, this reboot makes for a very good story telling approach. Not only does it introduce a new arc in the stories of our protagonists compared to those featured in previous movies and the TV series, but also provides the producers a great excuse to revamp the entire franchise!
This movie highlights the emotional facet of Spock, something that is not easily visible in the series or earlier movies. Spock's love for his parents, especially his human mother, is endearing and Quinto manages in fact succeeds in portraying this rather beautifully. Kirk's reckless and cynical personality is equally well portrayed by Pine. Also noteworthy is that this Kirk is not as philosophical as the one portrayed by William Shatner. Spock represents the reason and logic whereas Kirk is the embodiment of gung-ho action. The chemistry between these two opposites has been captured well on screen.
Abrams has a few signature sequences in the movie that echo his style of fast paced action with interesting camera perspectives. These include Kirk's birth in space, The car chase sequence involving the younger Kirk and the space dive with Sulu and Kirk, all of which will keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
Touted as perhaps the best Star Trek movie yet, the latest flick is a welcome revival to the age old franchise. With the last few Star Trek movies and series not performing well (in fact both the recent series and movie resurrections were considered complete failures), a lot was riding on the success of this one. Abram's Star Trek has received universal acclaim and has been a box-office success raking in over $150 million globally. There are even talks of a possible sequel with the new cast.
For this Trekkie the final frontier just got a lot more interesting!

The survivors of the fateful airliner Oceanic flight 815 celebrate a 100

The cult sci-fi drama series LOST completed 100 episodes on Wednesday 29th April 2009, coincidentally the same day that Barrack Obama’s administration completed its 100 days in office. What began with a plane crash on 22nd September 2004 has now become one of the most watched series in television history.
LOST is the story of the survivors of Oceanic 815 airliner that crashes on a mysterious island somewhere in the South Pacific. However this is no modern day Gilligan’s Island as the island and its inhabitants, both new and old have many interesting secrets. The show combines a milieu of elements which include Egyptian mythology, biblical allusions and even time travel.
The show has spawned a thriving international fan community. These Lostaways or Losties are also active participants and developer of various fansites and other media including the LOST WIKI- Lostpedia.
The show has also garnered critical acclaim and won many prime time awards including the Emmy and Golden Globe awards for outstanding drama series and also several cast performances.
Reflecting its devoted fan base, the series has become a part of American popular culture with references to the story and its elements appearing in other television series commercials, comic books, webcomics, humor magazines, video game and song lyrics.
Over the last four years, ominous mythology, startling discoveries, shocking cliffhangers, buried secrets, and stunning character development have been the significant highlights of the series.
With only 20 more episodes to go for the last episode of the final season, the interest in the series has peaked to dizzying levels and the show promises to deliver even more thrills!

Oracle Buys Sun - Another one bites the dust!

Database giant Oracle announced Monday that it will buy Sun Microsystems for $9.50 per share—roughly $7.4 billion. The two companies reached an agreement after an unsuccessful bid by IBM fell short at $9.40 per share.Oracle will use a combination of cash and borrowed money to pay for the purchase, which will cost Oracle $5.6 billion after taking into account Sun's debt and cash holdings.
Oracle predicted the merger will increase its annual operating income by $1.5 billion and add at least 15 cents per share to net income in its first year.
Oracle is a software and services company, best known for advanced database management software used by many of the world's largest enterprises. Sun produces both hardware and software. It produces Solaris, a popular version of the Unix operating system. Sun is also the creator of Java, a software language and development system that runs on hundreds of millions of devices, ranging from mainframe computers to cellphones. Sun makes server computers that use its own Sparc processor chips, but also makes machines that run processors from Intel Corp. In addition, Sun makes data storage gear, competing against HP and EMC Corp. of Hopkinton.Purchasing Sun confirms this shift by enlarging Oracle’s middleware business. More importantly, the deal means Oracle now goes up against IBM and HP in selling servers.
The Sun Solaris operating system is the leading platform for the Oracle database. With the acquisition of Sun, Oracle can optimize the Oracle database for some of the unique, high-end features of Solaris. With it's latest conquest, Oracle plans to offer a broad range of products, including servers and storage, with all the integrated pieces: hardware operating system, database, middleware and applications.
As became apparent with the acquisition of PeopleSoft in January 2005, Oracle has made acquisitions an important component of its growth strategy.Apart from the high-profile acquisitions which include BEA Systems, PeopleSoft, Hyperion and iflex, the behemoth has also swallowed whole numeorus other IT enterprises and has been expanding it's tentacles across the IT spectrum.
Oracle last major purchase was BEA Systems, which strengthened the former's foothold in middleware technologies. The BEA purchase meant Oracle was now selling middleware, or software that acts as a bridge between different applications. This put the company in competition against other middleware companies such as IBM.
The deal also has a significant financial implications. Already shares of Oracle stock closed down 24 cents at $18.82 after the news, while Sun Microsystems stock rose $2.46 to $9.15, both on the Nasdaq stock exchange. However the biggest and most obvious question is the extent of "Rightsizing". Industry analysts estimate that Oracle’s cost savings from Sun operations suggest job cuts of up to 10,000 workers from Sun’s payroll of more than 30,000.
Oracle's appetite for acquisitions may seem insatiable, but one has to marvel at the sheer size of this IT stalwart. What began as a databse company, today stands tall as a paragon of end to end solutions provider. As a matter of fact, that is the ultimate goal of this gargantuan beast, to provide an highly integrated and equally secure solution to all its customers.

But with this latest buy, has Oracle bitten off more than it can chew?