Prometheus: Movie Review OR "Of Greek Gods And Ridley Scott"

When Ridley Scott announced his return to the genre that was pretty much defined by him, SciFi fans world over were beyond delighted. After all, this is the man who gave us two of the most magnificent Science-Fiction masterpieces in the history of cinema, Alien and Blade Runner. And this excitement was further elevated exponentially with the prospect of the new project being a prequel of sorts to one (Alien) of those masterpieces. 

Named after the Greek god who stole fire from the other Gods and gave it to man to make him an equal, Prometheus the movie deals with mankind's quest to search for an answer to the question "Who created us and why?". Prometheus marks Scott's return to Science Fiction after almost three decades. But you couldn't tell that after watching the movie, for the celebrated director STILL knows how to make an engaging SciFi flick.

The thing about Scott's vision in his sci-fi movies is the level of authenticity he manages to showcase. His futuristic universe seems very believable and you start thinking "Gosh this could really happen!". In fact many elements used in Alien and Blade Runner, which were pure science fiction at the time are very much part of the real world today.

The build up to the release has been phenomenal. The promos for the flick started pouring in as early as December last year. Apart from the standard theatrical trailers, the marketing campaign featured many viral videos,a faux TED talk and even a fully functioning Weyland Industries website.However, one of the faults I found with the viral campaigning was that there was way too much information pertaining to the plot given away in the full length trailers. Or maybe I figured it out cause I'm just THAT smart!

In many ways Prometheus serves as a reboot/prequel to the original SciFi horror classic, Alien (NOT Aliens! That's a completely different flick albeit a worthy sequel directed by James Cameron). However you do not necessarily need to have watched the previous movie to understand what's going on (although you'll be glad that you did!) 

In terms of connections and eater eggs with relation to Scott's first foray into the SciFi genre, Alien, the avid fan will have a ball of time spotting them. Right from the title sequence to the Space Jockey, Scott has ensured that the plot of Prometheus is very much set in the same universe as Alien. But he is firm in his assertion that the movie does not directly tie-in into the 1979 classic. And this is quite evident after you've watched the movie and the climax sequences. This is a good thing, since it leaves room for potentially a new set of sequels further exploring the new perspective offered by this storyline. 

The suspense and thrill aspect of the movie are in the same league as the original Alien and one scene in particular is a stunning testament to the true brilliance of Scott as a director and Rapace as an actor. Nightmares are made of stuff like this! Although do not expect the same thrill-a-minute scenes like the other flicks. The shocks are in place at the correct junctures in the movie and are again kept relevant to the plot and seemingly underplayed in the trailers seen thus far.

The story raises many religious and deep philosophical quesitons while offering minimal answers. This, in my view, is a conscious effort by the film maker enabling the audience to formulate their own responses to the queries posed. Although the ones that are presented in the movie are gems in their own right. The conversation between Logan Marshall Green and Micheal Fassbender's characters, after their rather disappointing discovery, was one such revelation. When asked why did human's create androids such as himself, David (Fassbender) receives a rather callous and nonchalant response  from Holloway (Marshall-Green) - "We made you because we could!"

For someone who has always been intrigued at the possibility of an extra-terrestrial hand in the creation of life on earth, the basic premise of this movie appealed to me greatly. Although I was a little disappointed that the true intent or absolute origin of life was not theorized or even hypothesized to the fullest extent. But then like I mentioned, the director has left many questions open for audience interpretation. 

Prometheus offers die-hard fans of the Alien franchise a brand new perspective and a more thought-provoking origin story which stands alone on its own plot and back-story. And which has the possibility of spawning its own set of independent sequels which would make for great viewing. If you like good science-fiction and admire debating and understanding open endings and interpretations, then Prometheus will surely be a feast for your senses.

Here's the latest trailer for you to get all pepped up for the flick.

Of Legacies and Sequels-A Tron Story

In 1982 a movie starring Jeff Bridges as a brilliant computer programmer sucked into the computer world, wowed movie going audiences with its (then considered) "cutting edge" computer graphics and cyberpunk imagery. The movie was TRON, which went on to become a cult classic.

Fast forward 28 years to 2010 when the LONG anticipated sequel to the cult classic is to be released. The movie, aptly titled TRON:Legacy takes the cyber universe from the first movie to a whole visually updated new 3-D experience.

The movie is of course yet to release. But the buzz for it began almost a year ago with a teaser trailer (a rather long one at that!) showcased at the Comic Con 2009.



To those who had no clue about the original movie, this trailer was only eye candy and simply looked "AWESOME". But fans and viewers of the original movie were instantly hooked since they saw the protagonist from the previous movie, Kevin Flynn and his coded program, Clu (Both played by the talented Jeff Bridges) in the clip. Fans realised that the sequel had some connection with the original and wasn't some lame attempt to reboot or simply cash in on the "TRON" banner. Their interest was definitely piqued.

The viral marketing continued in various media and Disney (the studio that has produced both TRON movies) was leaving no stone unturned to ensure brand recall for their cyber flick. Even their latest acquisition, Marvel comics got to play a role in the marketing, with the comic book behemoth having published a limited series comic book which served as a gap between the two TRON movies.

The latest set of trailers (the official theatrical versions) that have been released confirmed the rumors of the rather deep connection between the new movie and its retro prequel. These trailers definitely look even more wowsome and appealing than the teaser trailer and have certainly ensured that not just the fans of the original, but even noobs are hooked.

Theatrical Trailer 1



Theatrical Trailer 2



But the real question remains. Will the sequel be as big a success as the original? Despite all the positive reactions to the trailers and the story (synopsis and plot easily available at the Tron Wiki, IMDB or Wikipedia), I have my doubts about the new flick. Don't get me wrong, the new movie IS going to be absolutely amazing and will definitely wow audiences and I am going to watch the movie irrespective.
But the original movie is a cult classic and a pop culture phenomenon.

Despite a "geek" oriented plot, the movie still marveled audiences for one reason. The original movie was released in an era where computers were being considered the next big step in evolution. Everyday breakthroughs were being made in the computing world and predictions of super computers capable of running on their own (read Artificial Intelligence) were becoming a hotly debated topic. This was the same era that saw other cult classics such as Short-Circuit, War-Games, Blade Runner and The Terminator being released.

The Original Tron Movie Trailer



From a visuals perspective, the movie was ground-braking. Almost 80% of the movie is rendered through computer graphics. Not only are backgrounds and props CGI cool, but the intense (by the standards of that era) action sequences are equally spectacular. The most amazing visual of course being that of the light cycle races.

The Light Cycle Races



Another aspect that worked tremendously in the favor of the original was the analogy that the creators had drawn between the computer world and the real world. Computer programs resembled human beings, more specifically the human programmers who coded them and their characteristics were a reflection of the purpose of their function (for example an accounting program looked like wore thick glasses and was rather introvert, cool huh!). Of course this has been done to death in numerous movies since (The Matrix anyone?).

I am certain the creative folks at Disney have done their homework and have ensured that the sequel has its own set of unique aspects that will stand apart from the first movie. But there is only so much creativity in the world! Having said that, the special effects for the new movie truly look awesome and the slick new look given to the cyber universe, and the fact that the movie is being released in a brand new 3-D format, the TRON experience at the cinema halls shall be Legendary.

One thing is for sure, this TRON fan is certain to catch the sequel when it hits the big screens in December. And even if you haven't seen the first movie, do catch this one. Who knows, you may be inspired to catch the original after watching it!

END OF LINE

Going The Distance

Long distance relationship. Three words that almost always spell doom for couples. And who can blame them. Apart from the geographical and time differences, there are just so many other variables that come in between the doting couple.


Almost all long distance relationships are the result of career decisions. Better job prospects, higher education or long term assignments are the most common causes for couples to live in different cities, states, countries or continents. And its a valid one at that. These are the career choices that help secure a better future for the couple (Assuming the couple was serious about a future to begin with).


Apart from the fact that the couple is geographically split, many other things start changing as well. The routines are the first to alter. The time you spent together in person is of course spent trying to stay in touch or perhaps altogether replaced by increased involvement in some other facet of your life. Your friends and acquaintances change as well, which most of the time may also mean meeting new partners who seem to have none of the flaws you find in your existing one. But perhaps the most damning thing to ever transpire is that you do not miss your significant other at all!


Keeping in touch is of course the key. Today, staying in touch isn't a challenge at all. Email, IM, facebook, twitter, flickr, the list of available online options is endless. You could let your significant other stay in touch with every single aspect of your life, virtually. But that's the keyword here, "Virtual". At the end of the day, we are flesh and bone and despite all the "updates" we get about our partner, we still long for the "Real" touch. We need that passionate hug at the end of the day, that shoulder to rest our tired head, those sensuous lips to kiss. There are some things that just can't be replaced.


So how do couples survive this spatial and temporal separation for prolonged periods of time? If you're already married, well things maybe simpler. You could argue that your partner is waiting for you back home, faithfully. But temptation doesn't shy away from married souls. In fact, infidelity is perhaps the most common outcome of long distance married couples. And after a certain period of time, it just becomes difficult to hold on to the hope of being together sometime in the future. The void may be replaced by something else, or worse, someONE else. It just isn't worth waiting anymore and people move on.


So are all couples involved in long distance relations doomed? The answer is as complex as it is simple. You asked the question and YOU are the answer. A relationship, shouldn't require any additional effort. It flows, just like a river. Sure, you're bound to hit a few boulders along the route, but your resilience and persistence will eventually prevail and you will meet the ocean.


This may sound sugar-coated, but in fact, the reality is, it's not. What it is, is a reminder that relationships last if you want them to. So go ahead, make that call to your significant other and let them know that the distance is just temporary, the love, however, is forever.

"Absence diminishes small loves and increases great ones, as the wind blows out the candle and blows up the bonfire." 

~ Francois de la Rouchefoucauld

IndiBlogger Singapore Meet

As I pen this post, two things are running through my mind. First, this was truly a memorable evening with the very first IndiBlogger meet off Indian soil being a success. The second, ten other fellow bloggers are going to do a MUCH better job of writing about this evening than me!

So I began thinking (and at 3:00 AM, that's NOT an easy task!), and it struck me, KISS. no not the act of locking lips (and much more in some cultures!). I was referring to the acronym, Keep It Simple Stupid. So here goes.

The evening in question was being planed for almost two weeks (or was it three?). Being a blog meet virgin, I was naturally anxious. And the proposed agenda of the evening did little to ease my jitters. With a formal introduction round, a powerpoint presentation (well a Keynote one in my case!) and a showcase of some form of entertaining talent the meet was beginning to sound like a Mr. Universe Contest.

But my anticipation overpowered my anxiousness. The idea of connecting with diverse people who shared the same passion for blogging as I do, was simply irresistible! And so I began counting down the days to the fateful encounter.

The day of the meet, I chose to go prepared and even risked reaching late to the office that day as I spent time preparing my "Blog Meet Kit". Don't get intimidated. The so called "kit" was simply my camera and my Mac (yes I could've said laptop, but Mac sounds so much more cooler!). The decision to take the camera was an obvious one. Taking the Mac was to showcase my other talents, sketching and photography, which would've been difficult to exhibit without a display medium.

I had done very little reading on the works of the people I was to meet that evening, which is to say that I had simply read the titles of their blogs! Nonetheless, I was certain that their respective blogs must've been great reads.

So we now move to the actual meet itself. Having arrived just a shade after the designated rendezvous time, I was delightfully surprised to find that almost half the attendees were already present. This was a great sign, since it meant that the other bloggers were as eager to attend this meet as I.

Having only interacted with these people via the Internet, meeting the real people was surreal. It almost felt like going on a blind date, except that unlike the date, here there would be written accounts of the evening floating in cyberspace for thousands, if not millions, to read!

I could sense that almost everyone was a little jittery. But we all loosened up pretty quick. Informal introductions were underway as we waited for the remaining names on the roster to show up.

As formal introductions began, I began what I do best, taking pictures. Which did not mean that I wasn't interested in the bloggers' stories. But from experience I know that the best shots are the natural ones. And what better time to find someone in a more natural pose than when they're trying to break the ice with a set of strangers!

With just one short of the confirmed list of attendees, the meet was definitely a success.
I was impressed with the diversity in not only the backgrounds of the people present, but also the contents of their blogs. As each person at the table described his or her motivation and inspiration for being a blogger, I was enamored.

As the evening progressed, discussions swerved from related topics such as the choice of blogging medium, attracting readers, coming up with catchy captions to absolutely random stuff like favorite movies, the world cup and Beauty products!
Conversations led us to realise that the world was even smaller than we had originally perceived as it turned out that most of us were living examples of the six degrees of separation.

Einstein's theory reared its ugly head as we realized that the two hour long meet was coming to a conclusion too soon! It was obvious that no-one wanted the meet to end anytime soon, but commitments to family and friends (and the fact that the restaurant manager was eyeing us suspiciously!) forced us to call it an evening.

As we parted ways, there was a sense of disappointment. But also a sense of happiness, since now I had made new friends, friends who shared my passion for writing.

The IndiBlogger meet in many ways was more than about just meeting fellow bloggers. To me it was more about understanding why we do, what we do. They were mothers, students, consultants, techies and perhaps even stand up comedians, but at the core, they were individuals who were passionate about writing. Their passion for writing was what truly defined their characters, their inner persona. For me the evening was truly a memorable one and I sincerely hope that the IndiBlogger gang here in Singapore continues to meet and interact.

On a more personal note, the bloggers meet helped me answer the question, Why do we blog? We blog not only because we like to, but because we like it when what we blog is liked by others. It's about the appreciation. The comments, the re tweets,  the Facebook "Like" button clicks is what drives us bloggers to go to extra-ordinary lengths to write "that" one post.

Here's hoping that the Singapore IndiBlogger gang stay connected and meet up more often.

Pleasure and a Privilege to have made your acquaintance fellow bloggers.

Return Of The Clients

If you been using twitter (and after reading my previous posts, I sincerely hope you are!), then you are definitely familiar with the twitter website and it's features or lack thereof!
Don't get me wrong, the web-site is very simple and clutter-free (unlike facebook and orkut), but reading tweets from multiple peeps becomes somewhat of a challenge. Also, you have to constantly refresh your page to check on different portions of your twitter page (read favorites, followers, mentions, etc.)

What if you could organize the people you follow, keep all your favorite tweets at easy reach and have a holistic view of your twitter experience?

Enter the twitter clients!


Table Top Wonders!
You've got Outlook (or ThunderBird if you're into open source!) to manage you mail offline. So why should your tweets be treated differently. Desktop clients are the key to tracking your tweeps and their tweets in an organized and fun manner. Here are some of the best desktop twitter clients -

TweetDeck

Managing your tweets couldn't get simpler than this! Built on the Adobe Air, TweetDeck offers integration with your twitter, facebook and myspace accounts.
TweetDeck is the complete package, upload media, shorten your URLs, maintain your hashtag history and even translate your tweet!
A prominent feature of TweetDeck (one which makes it my preferred desktop client) is the column. Create separate columns for different functions, i.e. one to track all your DMs, one for all your mentions, one for your list of followers and so on. This is great if you're interested in organizing all your tweets and focusing on specific aspects of your twitter timeline.
If you are serious about tweeting, TweetDeck is definitely the way to go!



Seesmic

Next to Tweetdeck, Seesmic is perhaps the most sought after twitter desktop client. And for good reason. The client has a web, desktop and mobile avatar and also supports integration with your facebook profile.
Although I've downloaded the seesmic desktop client, I don't really use it much, but those who have,swear by it. So do check it out before you zero in on a client.
Pssst...if you are really interested in a more detailed comparison between TweetDeck and Seesmic, check out this link


HootSuite

Although a web based client, HootSuite offers most, if not all the functions available in TweetDeck and Seesmic. Labeled as the twitter client for professionals, HootSuite is essentially targeted at those organizations who wish to leverage twitter for their social media presence.
But that doesn't mean that you need to be the CEO of a company to appreciate the features provided by this baby!
A few things that I liked, were the customized shrunk links that allow you to track the number of hits on the target web-page, provision for scheduled tweets and profile statistics summary.


Fun On The Run!
Tweeting is all about keeping your updates mobile. Let's face it, not all of us spend hours together in front of the PC, well not voluntarily at least. So if you need to keep feeding the twitter bird on an hourly basis with your tweets, how do you do that? Well thankfully there are a plethora of clients designed for every mobile phone platform (read OS). Some of the most popular ones are -


Gravity

Designed for Symbian smart phones (read Nokia N&E Series and the likes), this is by far the best in its class. Apart from supporting all the standard twitter functions (retweet, reply, favorite, Direct Message, etc), Gravity also features other cool features. These include forwarding a tweet as an SMS (super awesome!), uploading pictures to multiple media sharing sites (Mobypicture, posterous, twitpic, twitgoo, yfrog, img.ly), creating groups of your followers and even schedule your tweets.
Gravity also integrates with Google Reader. So if you have a RSS feeds synced with your Google Reader, then you can read them right off your phone!
Recently even a facebook integration has been introduced. Although it's still a little buggy, but nonetheless a great addition to an amazing mobile client.
Be warned, this application is not freeware and comes with a price tag of $9.95 (plus taxes). But it's worth every cent!


Tweets60

Tweets60 was the first free native twitter application for Nokia S60. Tweets60 lets you change your status, read the tweets of people you follow, re-tweet, and manage who you follow.
With a fairly simple interface and basic functions of twitter, this is the a great mobile client for those who don't want too many fancy features.


Tweetie

Tweetie is the twitter client for the oh so sought after iPhone and iTouch. Well to be fair, it is originally the twitter client for the Mac, and has a mobile version for Apple's touch products.
Needless to say that the features of this bad boy are at par with the other touch applications. And in true Apple style, Tweetie has seamless integration not only with your web profiles but also your phone address book.
Apart from that the client is fully loaded with features like one-touch media upload, group management, landscape support and much more.
If you own an iPhone (or the iTouch), this is the client you need on your device.


And with that, the Twitter Critter series comes to an end. Through this series I have tried to cover as much area as possible to make your twitter experience as simple and hassle-free as possible.

I hope that these posts have been helpful in demystifying the twitter universe, oops I mean Twitterverse.
Do let me know if there are any other aspects of Twitter that you'd like more gyann on. Till then...


Happy Tweeting!


Previously in the series:
The Twitter Critter Strikes Back!
Attack Of The Apps

Thanksgiving...One Year Ago

Last year I was lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving in the motherland of the holiday, USA. I was in Denver, Colorado on a client assignment. To celebrate the long weekend, my colleagues and I decided to take a trip to Las Vegas. Being our first trip to the gambling capital of the world, it was highly anticipated by us.

We were to leave early morning on 27th November, a Thursday. The day before, we were at work, making final presentations and getting sign-offs from the client. The general mood across the team and in the office was of joyous celebration. We had managed to meet the project deadlines and deliver satisfying results to the client and were all set to celebrate the results of our hard work with a terrific weekend getaway.

Then I got a message from a friend back home in Bombay. His conversation stated that portions of the city's downtown were under siege by some terrorist outfit.

The date was November 26th, 2008. The siege he referred to was the terrorist attack on the metropolis that began at approximately 9:30 PM and lasted for a gut-wrenching sixty hours.

We immediately scoured the internet to obtain some sort of video footage of the attacks. News Channels were broadcasting the grotesque incident live via their web channels. What we saw, we could not believe. Glimpses of men dressed in casual attire wielding Ak-47s and hand grenades at the Taj Mahal hotel. The five-star hotel had been turned into a battle-ground.

Elsewhere other members of the terrorist group had taken siege of various locations across the southern tip of Bombay. Restaurants, hospitals, train stations, schools, these men had not shown any remorse of mercy in their choice of targets and victims. Their motive was plain and simple. Death to all!. All of it seemed surreal, almost unimaginable.

What seemed like an eternity was in fact 60 hours. Almost three days, the city was held captive on in its own turf by terrorists. The outcome? Over 148 civilians died, 14 police officers and 2 Commandos lost their lives, several were badly injured and the city that everyone thought was indestructible was brought to its knees.

Bombay has had its share of disasters, natural or otherwise. As a citizen of the bustling metropolis, I have witnessed most of them. The communal riots of 92, the tragic bomb blasts that ensued the year after, the deluge of 26/7 in 2005, the local train blasts in 2006. These are some of them many events that have been etched in my memory. But there was something different about the attacks on 26/11. Something that made the entire episode seem not only tragic but alarming.

Although I was not in the city, when the tragedy occurred, my family and friends were. My father and brother work at office complexes in the Nariman Point area, which is close to Colaba. My grandmother lives at Vile Parle, where a taxi cab exploded . Many of my friends live near the CST station area, where one terrorist was on a shooting rampage with his rifle. Thankfully none of them were harmed, this time.

Flash forward to one year later, today. A lot has happened since that fateful day. But the memory of the tragedy still haunts us. For most they are only images that we saw on the television, articles we read in the newspapers. But for those who were caught in the middle of the maelstrom, the day is a grim reminder of the tragedy that befell them and a date that will be forever etched in their memories.

And the media is not helping in easing the pain either. Barely a week before the first anniversary of the terrorist attack, electronic and print media have been capitalizing on the event. With "Special Reports", "Exclusive Footage" and purple prose editorials, the media moguls are leaving no stone unturned to cash in on this tragedy. Even a cellular network operator is riding the wave with its own "tribute" to the heroes who sacrificed their lives to end the tragedy.

Noble as their intentions may be, one can't help but wonder, if all of this is but another way to publicize their own brands under the guise of nobility. But hey, that's just the pessimist in me talking. Who knows? Perhaps we are witnessing a strong social sensibility among the corporates.

Another and a far more important question is this - Has justice been served? A year after the attacks, we have one terrorist under custody awaiting trial, The governments of India and Pakistan are playing ping-pong with dossiers, the "Super Powers" of the world have yet to take a firm stand and plenty of unanswered questions.

So what are we celebrating after one year? From what I can tell, we can celebrate this, the simple fact that we are here. that the city has bounced back and that you and I can celebrate this Thanksgiving without incident.

But wait, didn't we already do that after the bomb blasts of '93? And wasn't this the same attitude adopted by us in response to 11/6 local train bombings? Sensing a pattern?

It is nice to know that as a city we have repeatedly emerged from our darkest hours as victors. But after a certain point that should not all that we should aspire towards. Rising from the ashes like a phoenix is fine, but striking the enemy in the gut is better. We need our government to take decisive action not only against the terrorists themselves, but also against those who are guilty of supporting such terrorist outfits.

So people, let us celebrate Thanksgiving this year. But let us celebrate this Thanksgiving to honor and thank the souls who went beyond the call of duty to secure our freedom on this day, one year ago and even before that. Let us give thanks to the fact that you and I are still here to remember this day thanks to their actions.

But let us not just stop at giving thanks. Let this day remind us of something even more significant, that terrorism is very much an issue for all nations, developed or otherwise. We can no longer turn a blind eye towards the tyranny of a group of people and lead our lives in oblivion. Make no mistake, this is a war, one in which the enemy is prepared to strike innocent civilians like you and me.

Fighting this war on terror and winning it for our future generations will hopefully earn us our due thanks in the Thanksgivings to come.

Attack Of The Apps

Welcome to the second post in the Twitter Critter Series (third if you consider the original Twitter Critter Post!), focussing on the new social networking (soc-net for short) site, Twitter.  In the previous post, we saw the basics (and I mean real basic basics!) of using twitter. This week's post focuses on how you can leverage your twitter account to truly immerse in the soc-net experience.

Look Mommy I Shot That!
Networking on the web seldom involves mere textual updates of one's life. Today we can share our personal experiences with family and friends in full color, motion and sound. YouTube, Picasa, flickr and many others allow us to upload those candid moments to the web and share them with everyone.

Sharing pictures or videos on twitter can be as simple as posting the link of your photo album elsewhere (picasa, youtube, flickr, photobucket and the likes). But why resort to such 'prehistoric' methods? Twitter has spawned, or is at least supported, by many third party media upload websites. The seamless integration between your twitter account and these applications, enables, nay, empowers you with a one-touch upload and tweet functionality.

Here is the low-down on few of the third-party applications to enlighten you on the possibilities of your twitter presence.


Say Cheese!
A Picture, they say, is worth a thousand words, which is tremendously helpful when you're dealing with a 140 character limit! Some of the most popular photo upload and tweeting sites include -


twitpic
A simple no nonsense site which lets you upload photographs directly from the website or through supported phone applications. Apart from seeing the snaps that you uploaded, twitpic also lets you see what the world is uploading in real-time.



snaptweet
Snaptweet allows you to integrate your existing flickr account and tweet uploads to the Yahoo photo sharing service. You can send your latest photo or send tagged photos only or even send all emailed photos.





tweetphoto
Fairly similar to twitpic, this service allows you to tweet about your photos on twitter and facebook






Lights, Camera... Action!
If a photo is equivalent to a thousand words, one can only imagine the power of a video clip. Here are some of the top video sharing services for twitter -


twiddeo
Twiddeo lets you upload video files (mpg, wmv and avi file formats). The service also allows yout upload directly from your webcam and as well as your cellular phone (using an email based service).


vidly
Rated as the application of choice by many, this video sharing service also has an iphone application which lets you directly upload via your treasured apple phone.



12seconds
Fame may last for only 15 minutes, but it takes only 12 seconds to become famous. Record your emotions, thoughts or just what you're upto in a 12 second video clip and upload it to this site and watch it spread like wild fire across your twitter and facebook accounts!



Mix It Up!

Don't want to be restricted to just images or videos? Well then try these sites that offer multiple media tweeting support -


tweetcube
TweetCube allows you to share files on Twitter, period! Upload your images, videos, music and more and your files are automatically posted on Twitter.


mobypicture
Not to be confused with twitter's own fail whale, this whale of a photo and video upload service allows integration not only with twitter, but also other sites like facebook, flickr, youtube, blogger, wordpress and typepad (Phew!).



There you go, some really cool web-applications to add media richness to your twittering experience. So what're you waiting for? Start sharing!

The next post (which is the final one in the series) will shed some light on some great twitter clients to help you tweet from anywhere!

Previously in this series: The Twitter Critter Strikes Back!

Next in this Series: Return Of The Clients

TED - Ideas Worth Spreading

Recently I came across a Website that really changed the way I look at my profession. For that matter, it really transformed my perception about the nature of different professions and how they are in fact related to one another, no matter how diverse. But before I go into the details of the website, a little background about what the web-site is promoting.

TED or technology Entertainment Design started as a conference, held in Long Beach, California way back in 1984, which brought together people from the fields of, well you guessed it, technology entertainment and design. At the face of it this combination seems odd. But this odd mix of people sharing their own stories about their work and their experiences snowballed and today the conference, which is an annual affair is sold out a year in advance, has speakers from many other backgrounds and has inspired millions.

The premise for the conference is simple. Innovators, leaders, experts from each field share their ideas. These 'stories' are aimed at not any specific audience or a privileged few, but at all of us, you, me, and everybody. At the core of TED is the belief that an idea can come anywhere at any time and from anyone. Also that idea can spread at the speed of light and has the potential to move mountains. The TED conference is a medium for those who wish to share their ideas with the world in an effort to improve society as a whole.

The TED philosophy -

• An idea can be created out of nothing except an inspired imagination.
• An idea weighs nothing.
• It can be transferred across the world at the speed of light for virtually zero cost.
• And yet an idea, when received by a prepared mind, can have extraordinary impact.
• It can reshape that mind's view of the world.
• It can dramatically alter the behavior of the mind's owner.
• It can cause the mind to pass on the idea to others.

Many of the ideas are in the form of stories or anecdotes. Speakers come from different walks of life. To give you an idea of the range of topics, here is a list of recent speakers at the TED conferences held in the last few years:

• Eve Ensler -Creator of the Vagina Monologues
• Peter Diamandis - Runs the X-Prize foundation
• Abhay Deol - Bollywood Actor/Producer
• Bill Clinton - Former US President
• Jane Goodall - Renowned anthropologist
• Nandan Nilekani - Founding member, Infosys
• Al Gore - Former US Vice President, Nobel Laurette
  
• Bono - Singer, Activist
• JJ Abrams - Hollywood Producer/Director
  

It is quite apparent that the spectrum of speakers at the TED conferences is pretty colossal. But these are just a few of the speakers that have contributed in the last two and a half decades of TED.And each speaker brings to the floor his or her unique story.

The beauty of TED lies in its simple format. Over a course of 4 days, 50 Speakers get a fixed time slot of 18 minutes each to share their stories. The stories range from the hilarious to the inspirational. But each story is enriching in its own way.

TED is now a global phenomenon, not restricted to the conferences at Long Beach, California. In fact, the latest TED conference is being held right here in India at the Mysore Campus of Infosys and is playing host to many national and international personalities.

This brings me to the website that I mentioned earlier. In an effort to ensure that the stories/ideas of the many speakers don't get lost in the annals of time, TED launched TED.com, a 'clearinghouse' of knowledge, where ordinary people like you and I can view the inspirational videos of the speakers from past TED conferences.

I am sure that most of you watch some of the many many inane (albeit funny) viral videos that are ubiquitous on the net. Every other day someone is posting a link to some funny or ''Awesome' video file on YouTube or the likes. While these videos are a great stress-buster, they're more likely to be forgotten or have little value-addition to our lives or to the society as a whole.

On the other hand watching a video of any of the speakers from past TED conferences on TED.com is an enriching experience. Not only does it introduce us to new stories of people from across the globe and across industries, but also provides a new perspective on many global and local issues. Do yourself a favor, watch at least one TED video in a day (it takes not more than 20 minutes). I guarantee, within a week, you will start looking at the world in a new light.

You can go to the TED website and start viewing these videos instantly. Or you could fill out a simple registration form and become part of the TED community. Advantages of being part of the Community include being able to interact with other TED community members, mark you favorite TED videos and themes, share your idea with others and much more.

To get a taste of what TED is all about, view the video below:



But why? Why go into all this trouble of getting people from disparate backgrounds to come and speak about random topics and experiences?
Well each experience, each story, each idea is random in isolation. But when you rise above the boundaries of individual backgrounds, these ideas are connected. Every idea is the result of someone's imagination. That someone may be limited in his or her thought process and may not see the impact or the reach of his/her idea. But when you throw your idea out their in the open, it starts taking a life of its own, it starts breathing, it grows and it germinates many more ideas. No matter how different our professional and personal backgrounds may be, we are still connected as a human race and hence so are our problems and as a consequence the solutions to those problems. The TED conference, in my view, is a wonderful testament to that notion and thus is great legacy that we can leave for future generations to carry on.

For further information on TED visit the following links
http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/5
http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/42

Why Newspapers Will Become Dinosaurs!

Be it a city slicker or a small town simpleton, most of us receive our newspapers at our doorstep. Some young lad employed by the "newspaperwallah" cycles into your building compound or society or "gully" and hastily makes the rounds of all the neighborhood doors, smacking them with the requested daily. Now this young lad, bloke, simpleton, "chokra" obviously isn't living his dream by running around every morning at the crack of dawn.  But until he wins the lottery, this is his bread and butter.

But for how long? Economies rise, purchasing powers expand and standards of living improve across the populous. There will be a time when the ubiquitous "chokras" will be no more since they would have climbed up the socio-economic ladder and established themselves as bona-fide white collar employees. Who then will bring your daily dose of news at your doorstep? And if not delivered in the morning for your reading pleasure, where will you go to get that "reading material" for those early morning rituals? Think about it for a minute. How many of us are willing to go to the neighborhood newsstand just so that we can buy something which is already available to us for free (in a manner of speaking of course!) on a 24x7 basis.

Where is it available on a constant basis you ask? Well silly, through the electronic media of course! Yes that idiot box of yours has roughly about a a news channel in virtually every regional language of this country, the AIR (All India Radio), broadcasts news bulletin on a daily basis throughout various time slots in the day and the internet probably has a gazillion odd sites dedicated to reporting current affairs and breaking headlines. A new entrant in this list is the mobile phone. With GPRS, EDGE and 3G, a variety of news-related content is readily available for the average cell-phone user.

Television has been around for some decades now and we all have witnessed the power of moving images when it comes to news. How many cringed when they saw the towering landmarks of New York succumb to terrorist attacks and turn into dust? The war reports brought Kargil, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka to our living rooms. Watching Yuvraj Singh's six-sixes over and over on every sports channels was electric! There is no denying the fact that television has revolutionized the way we perceive news.

Now consider the web for instance. type in news on google and you'll get 26,000,000 results listing prominent names such as BBC, NDTV,CNN and also inane ones like Tundra, Sun and The Onion! But the fact remains that news sites are dime a dozen. Many sites focus on special segments of news, i.e. sport (http://www.cricinfo.com), weather (http://www.weather.com), finance (http://www.bloomberg.com), etc, offering a more in-depth and detailed analysis of the affairs.

Apart from the obvious contenders, the web also has it's share of amateur reporters and paparazzi. Whiz through the status updates of your friends on twitter, facebook or orkut and you're bound to come across some bit of  local and international (depending on the reach of your friend-circle) news. Sports fans will let you know which football club won the previous night with great regale or whether the pole position was claimed by champion Hamilton or underdog Sutil. Financial pundits will keep twitting about the next big bull-run or at least the best performing stocks for the day. Even this year's Central Government Election results were on facebook before they were in newsprint! The most compelling factor about the web as a source of news is its ability to be absolutely instantaneous! News from any part of the world is available at your fingertips (with web browsing phones that is a pretty literal statement!).

Now I know that most of you feel that all the technology in the world cannot replace "that" feel that a newspaper provides. Paradigm shifts are often met with such weak criticism. People said the same thing about digital watches when they were introduced in the analog era. But today, digital clocks are everywhere! Newspaper barons and conglomerates are aware that this shift is taking place slowly but surely. That is the reason why they have begun foraying into the digital media to capture the escaping demographic. Think of any major news daily and they are bound to have a presence on the web, mobile content and in  many cases even the television and radio!

Let's not forget, that a paperless medium is also beneficial to the environment. With seven trees being cut to make a sheet of paper, your gossip section alone is responsible for deforestation of small forests! So environmentalists would definitely be tooting for the online and other non-paper based media to ensure the survival of the environment.

Are you beginning to sense the next big wave? A few years (maybe 10, maybe 20, maybe more!) from now, newspapers will cease to be the de-facto source of your daily dose of current affairs. Coupled with factors such as a rising economy, abundance of content and reduction in charges, online and digital media will be the choice of millions across the nation and, of course, the world.

If you've been reading carefully (and I hope you have!), you're probably wondering why did I even mention the little tid-bit about the newspaper-boy. How does that fit into this piece about the phasing out of newspapers? Especially when other compelling factors have been presented simultaneously. Simple, because that is the one factor which will ultimately cause the shift in our country. History is witness to the laid back approach that most of our nation prides itself upon. Unless, the balance of things is not upset, when it comes to our convenience and comfort, we do not tend to take things seriously. In the absence of that "somebody", who does the work, we feel the pinch and it is only then that we wake up and smell the coffee! So i don't foresee any amount of technology, availability or resources causing our chai drinking and newspaper reading nation to evolve and explore new options. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a generalization but an observation of the attitudes of many old-timers. The younger generation is willing to indulge their senses, try different ideas and accept new paradigms. They will be leading this shift voluntarily; the others would be joining the band-wagon out of compulsion.

For the time being, your daily "akhbaar" is safe and you can indulge in your "garam chai and tez khabar" routine. But remember, "Nothing is permanent but change!”

Twitter Critter

Yet another social networking web-site to invade our lives - Twitter!

What began with Orkut, Hi5, myspace and reached a dizzying frenzy with facebook, has now seen the emergence of multiple social networking sites. So powerful is the force of online networking that it prompted companies to begin specialized networking sites, focussing on professional and technological (and god knows what else!) interests.

So what's so special about twitter? It offers nothing new, in fact, in terms of functionality, it is clearly akin to the ubiquitous "status" update feature on facebook. No special applications, no photo-albums, no info page! All it has is a little text box which can cram a maximum of 140 characters and a question on top which reads "What are you doing?"! I mean what was the big idea about dedicating an entire site to status updates!!!

But after using the micro-blogging site, quite fervently, I have done a 180! Twitter is absolutely wonderful! I am addicted, hooked and completely enamoured by this latest web offering! I also have an application, Tweets60! for my symbian phone. I keep updating my status, even post my thoughts and generally shout out my comments on what ever grabs my attention (hmmm does this mean my blog's gonna get jealous of twitter!). But seriously, I can't help myself as i keep refreshing my mobile device's twitter application seeking out new tweets to retweet and tweet some of my own! Now I am a complete twitter-critter!

Twitter, although not brand new, is relatively fresh for Indian audiences (I say this coz most of my facebook friends are not using twitter yet!). But am sure after a certain minister's faux pas, the nation witnessed a flurry of desis twittering away!
However it's sure to pick up and is also poised to give competition to the current hot social-networking site, facebook. Although primarily designed to post simple updates, thoughts, comments, twitter also offers, albeit through third-party applications, options to upload pics, songs and videos. There are plenty of apps that can empower your twitter presence, (some even as inane as finding out if the International Space Station is above your city!).

Whether or not twitter becomes the next facebook or has an app list to put the itunes app store to shame, this bloke is happy to be part of the twitterati!

PS: You can follow my tweets @ http://twitter.com/Aaragorn1984