Brand of Year Award, For Sale

An initiative of the Exhibitor Group of Companies – the parent organisation of the Brands Foundation and the sole sponsor of the awards – the Brands of the Year Award is distributed every year by the prime minister at an elaborate ceremony.

When questioned about non-transparency in awarding these accolades, the organisers offered weak arguments to justify the controversial selection of top brands in many categories. They also refused to share the details of consumer surveys as well as names of the second and third contenders for any category.
“It is not only totally irrelevant for a news story but it reflects that you have some other intentions behind such queries,” Shaikh Rashid Alam, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Exhibitor Group of Companies, said.

An investigation by The Express Tribune, however, has revealed serious malpractices in the manner the award has been given out.

A careful study of the Pre Event Report (for 2010 awards) and background interviews of industry sources strongly indicate that money was a top criterion for awarding the accolade. It was also found that, in many categories, some brands won the title only because the competition either refused to participate or denied paying a participation fee of Rs125,000 — which is charged only from winners, according to Alam.
“They want a payment for the awards, which I feel is not the right thing to do,” said Nilofer Saeed, owner of the Hobnob Group. “Any award must be given on merit,” she insisted, “these should not be paid for”.
Her concerns seem legitimate — Hobnob was featured amongst the 100 fastest growing companies in the Arabia500 Summit, Turkey – a ranking of the fastest growing young companies in the Middle East and North Africa, Turkey and Pakistan.

The award in Pakistan, however, went to United King bakery.
In the category of spices, Brands Foundation selected Mehran Spices as best exporting brand in both 2007 and 2010 — ignoring Shaan Foods, irrefutably a giant in the exports of spices.
“Paying money for getting praised is not our policy,” Shaan Foods Chief Operating Officer (COO) Faisal Mubin Ganatra said while responding to a question.

When they first picked this category a few years ago, Ganatra said, Brands Foundation did not even contact Shaan Foods. “We export our products to 65 countries; we are a big player in the spice category,” he said. “This is not how superior brands are selected,” he asserted. “Now they are trying to contact Shaan Foods because they want the money [participation fee].”
To justify the selection of brands that are not market leaders but are close contenders, Alam said: “If the top brand doesn’t want to participate, the closest contender is given the title. And if the closest contender doesn’t participate, the category is dropped.”

World Call won the top brand title in the category of broadband internet services in 2010. The Karachi-based broadband provider, according to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, had only 11% market share that year as opposed to PTCL’s 55% followed by Wateen that had 25% — facts that refute the CEO’s claim that only close contenders are given the award when leading brand doesn’t participate.
“The Brands Foundation asked my company to participate in a category we didn’t even contribute to,” a source from one of the leading brokerage houses said on the condition of anonymity. “You sponsor the award by paying the entry fee, we will do the rest,” the source quoted Brands Foundation as saying. “They even ensured we would win the award,” he said, adding that the organisation awarded three competitors the same year by creating different categories.

The selection practice remains in clear violation of the section 10 of the Competition Act 2010, which states: “The deceptive marketing practices shall be deemed to have been resorted to or continued if an Undertaking resorts to: (a) The distribution of false or misleading information that is capable of harming the business interests of another undertaking; (b) The distribution of false or misleading information to consumers, including the distribution of information lacking a reasonable basis, related to the price, character, method or place of production, properties, suitability for use, or quality of goods.”

For instance SC Johnson and Sons’ Baygon – which won the said award in the category of insect killer aerosol in 2010 – best explains how the Brands Award violated the Act. According to AC Nielsen – a globally recognised marketing research firm – Reckitt Benckiser’s Mortein has an overall market value share of 39.7% in Pakistan against 5.7% of their rival Baygon — which by no means is a close competition.
The Competition Commission – the country’s top consumer watch-dog – also trusted the stats by AC Neilson and issued a show cause notice to Baygon’s manufacturer, directing them to remove Brand of the Year Award from their ad campaign — which, according to the commission, was incorrect and misleading.
“Nielsen has its own working and we have our own. We don’t work in an ideal environment so there could be differences in survey results,” said Shakil Khan, group director operations and head of research and publications at Exhibitor Group of Companies. “If we are able to shortlist 170 out of 180 brands correctly, we are satisfied,” Khan said. “As we move forward, we will be more accurate,” he added.
Responding to a question about the English newspapers category, Khan said The News International was given the award because Dawn did not participate. For its latest edition, the Brands Foundation has nominated Express Media Group’s subsidiaries Express News, Daily Express (Urdu), The Express Tribune and Javed Chaudhary’s talk show Kal Tak in their respective categories.

Five products of Pepsi – soft drink (cola), drinking water, potato chips, extruded snacks and soft drink (citrus) – won the title in 2010. It was in competition with Coca-Cola, according to Khan, but the latter did not participate.
Asked if Nestle could be a close contender in drinking water category, he said, Nestle did not participate
either.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6th, 2012.

Air India Plane made emergency landing on Pakistani Airport

A Delhi-bound Air India flight from Abu Dhabi with 128 people on board made an emergency landing at a Pakistani airport when pilots detected warning lights on the cockpit panel indicating hydraulic failure.  It later turned out to be a "false alarm" after after Air India engineers flown by a 'False alarm' led Air India plane to land in Pak: OfficialsAir India airplane makes emergency landing in Pakistan special flight to Nawabshah airport in southern Sindh province found nothing wrong with the hydraulic system. The problem was with the emergency indicator lights in the cockpit panel.

All the 122 passengers and six crew members were flown back to Delhi by the special plane this evening after an over 10-hour halt. The affected A-319 aircraft also flew into Delhi shortly thereafter. The original Air India flight AI-940 was supposed to land in Delhi at 0500 hours.

"The aircraft was flying over Pakistani airspace when the pilot saw warning lights on the cockpit panel and sought permission to land at the nearest airport, which was Nawabshah," an AI spokesperson said in Delhi.

A relief A-320 plane, carrying engineers, equipment and food, was rushed from Delhi. "There was nothing wrong with the hydraulic system of the

aircraft and, apparently the cockpit panel emitted false alarm making red lights to blip," Air India officials said, adding "however, even such a technical glitch has to be corrected and that was done."

Indian officials appreciated the cooperation of the Pakistani government in dealing with the situation.

On arrival at the Delhi airport, passengers said they were informed of a technical problem by the pilots who also told them that the plane was making an emergency landing.

"The aircraft made a smooth and normal touch down," one of the passengers said. Ashok Tomar, Special Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry, said the Indian High Commission in Islamabad was in constant touch with the Pakistani authorities throughout the period and a team of technical experts from Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority also assisted their Indian counterparts.

Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai was in touch with Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal, who was in contact with the commander of the aircraft.

Pakistan Defence Secretary Nargis Sethi had also directed the local aviation authorities to provide all assistance to the passengers and crew of the Indian aircraft, refuelling of which was taken care of by the Pakistan national carrier, PIA.

The passengers were permitted to disembark by Pakistan authorities and use the Nawab Shah airport's lounges, but the Captain preferred to have them remain on board, officials said. However, in New Delhi, Pakistan High Commission said the passengers were given visas on arrival at the airport.

Narrating their experience, a passenger V Radhakrishnan (65) said it was a long wait for them as the airport in Pakistan was very small. "There were literally no facilities. Though the flight landed safely, people were in panic and when there was a delay in arrival of our rescue aircraft, people got angry. We were told by the pilot, after landing that the hydraulics systems of our aircraft had developed some technical problem," he said.

For 15-year-old Muskan Sharma, who was travelling from Toronto to Delhi, it was a "scary" experience. "I was scared as to what may happen when we were told

that our aircraft has developed some problem," she said.

Samsung Wins the Verdict Apple on the Tablet Design

Samsung's Galaxy tablet computer is not “cool” enough to be confused with Apple's iPad, a judge has ruled.

The American electronics giant had argued the Samsung Galaxy Tab was too similar to their own product, but the claim was dismissed today at London's High Court.

Judge Colin Birss QC said: "They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design. They are not as cool."

He said consumers were not likely to get the two tablet computers mixed up and ruled the Samsung tablets do not infringe Apple's registered design.

"The informed user's overall impression of each of the Samsung Galaxy Tablets is the following: From the front they belong to the family which includes the Apple design; but the Samsung products are very thin, almost insubstantial members of that family with unusual details on the back," he said.

"The overall impression produced is different."

The judge said that while the Tab and iPad look similar from the front, he noted differences in the thickness and details on the backs of the devices.

"There are some minor differences but to my eye there are two major differences. The most important difference between the Samsung Galaxy tablets and the Apple design is the thinness of the Galaxy tablets. The next most significant difference is the detailing on the back of each of the tablets."

The judge added: "To an informed user, the Galaxy tabs do not merely look like a thin version of the Apple design, they look like a different, thinner design of product."

He said he had questioned if those two differences were enough to overcome the similarity of the front of the devices and the overall shape of them.

Apple had argued that the front face and overall shape were the most important factors because the informed user would spend the most time looking at the front and holding it.

The judge said he did regard the overall shape as very significant but said there there was a very obvious visual similarity at the front.

"In my judgment the key to this case is the strength or significance of that similarity. As I have said, the significance of the near identity of the front surfaces of these products is reduced to a degree by the existence of similar fronts in the design corpus. The question is - to what degree?

"This case illustrates the importance of properly taking into account the informed user's knowledge and experience of the design corpus. When I first saw the Samsung products in this case I was struck by how similar they look to the Apple design when they are resting on a table. They look similar because they both have the same front screen. It stands out.

"However, to the informed user (which at that stage I was not) these screens do not stand out to anything like the same extent. The front view of the Apple design takes its place amongst its kindred prior art."

Apple has been given 21 days to appeal against the decision.

A spokeswoman for Samsung welcomed the ruling and accused Apple of "excessive legal claims".

She said: "Samsung welcomes today's judgment, which affirms our position that our Galaxy Tab products do not infringe Apple's registered design right. As the ruling proves, the origins of Apple's registered design features can be found in numerous examples of prior art.

"Should Apple continue to make excessive legal claims in other countries based on such generic designs, innovation in the industry could be harmed and consumer choice unduly limited."

An Apple spokesman said he would not comment specifically on today's ruling but reiterated the company's earlier claims against Samsung: "It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging.

"This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we've said many times before, we need to protect Apple's intellectual property when companies steal our ideas."

Apple is bringing similar action against Samsung in Germany and the Netherlands.

July 09, 2012: No Bra Day

After the "NO Panty Day" now here comes NO Bra Day. When I took my break yesterday, my colleagues were talking this no bra thingy. I heard them saying that this would be observed this 9th of July and they are encouraging their girlfriends to show support.

My initial reaction? I doubted its authenticity just like the No Panty Day but still I gave myself a chance to conduct a research to verify its validity.

When I came home I tried a couple of google searches and I found this website - nationalnobraday.webs.com. It says,

Ladies, free your breasts for 24 hours by removing those dreadful (but at times oh-so-helpful) bras. Our perkiness should not be hidden. It is time that the world see what we were blessed with. Your breasts might be colossal, adorable, miniature, full, jiggly, fancy, sensitive, glistening, bouncy, smooth, tender, still blossoming, rosy, plump, fun, silky, Jello-like, fierce, jolly, nice, naughty, cuddly… But the most used word to describe your breasts on July 9th should be FREE!

Gentlemen, you can participate too! Your job will be to support us ladies by rocking something purple. It can be a purple tie, purple boxers, purple socks, the NNBD button or t-shirt.. If it is purple or with the NNBD logo, it supports us. (Your support means quite a lot to us…)

If wearing a bra on this day is absolutely necessary, you can definitely show your support by wearing something purple.

NoBraDay.com on the other hand, has a front page highlighting "Every Friday is NO BRA DAY". But July 9 this year does not fall on a friday which also opposes to many blog articles citing that No Bra Day is done during Saturday.  And all other search results I got bears the statement - I have no clue on when, where, and who started this tradition.

Final Fantasy III Android Version

Final Fantasy III is now available for Android. Originally released in 1990, the game was the first in the Final Fantasy series to sell more than a million copies. The Android version of the game brings the fun of the original game to your phone or tablet and has new and improved 3D visuals and story sequences especially for Android.

Google Books provide an image for every word in dictionary

UK designers Ben West and Felix Heyes have released an odd project that provides a Google image for all 21,000 words in the English dictionary.

The Google Book as it’s known, is composed of the first image that comes up for each word. West told Creative Applications Network that the pair used two PHP scripts to create the book: “The first one takes a text list of dictionary words and downloads each image in sequence, and the second lays them out into columns and outputs a PDF.”

And the point of this, exactly? “Conceptually it’s whatever you make of it,” West wrote to Creative Applications. “It’s really an unfiltered, uncritical record of the state of human culture in 2012…I would estimate about half of the book is revolting medical photos, porn, racism or bad cartoons.”

Though the book hasn’t had a printing run yet, the authors plan to. A price hasn’t yet been set.

Watch Demo here: http://vimeo.com/42481397

via Mashable

Jordanian Opponents pull guns on Live TV

A live television programme in Jordan descended into chaos, with a politician threatening an opponent with a gun.

The debate between MP Mohammad Shawabka and political activist Mansour Murad became heated after the two men traded insults with each other.

The politician then hurled his shoe at Mr Murad and brandished a pistol at him.

No shots were fired and no-one was too seriously hurt.

Peter Dobbie reports.

via BBC

NFL and Shangrila Foods armed for Ramadan Campaign

National Food has just launch a new campaign for their Tomato Ketchup and Chili Garlic Sauce to target Ramadan's increased consumption of ketchup and sauces. National Foods’ campaign comes just after Shangrila changed the colour of its pouch from white to red.


Both brands seems to have tough fight for this season. 

Wikr App gives iPhone Military Grade Security

SAN FRANCISCO — Celebrity scandals fueled by leaked text messages or emailed images inspired a new application to give users of Apple gadgets uncrackable communications that can be made to self-destruct.
The Wickr app has been downloaded thousands of times since the software crafted for iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices hit the virtual shelves of Apple's online App Store last week.
The San Francisco-based startup behind the software is working on versions of Wickr for smartphones or tablets powered by Google-backed Android software.

"We think communications should be flipped on its head," said startup co-founder Nico Sell, a key behind-the-scenes figure at the infamous Def Con hacker gathering that takes place annually in Las Vegas.
"Now by default, all our personal and business communications are traceable," she explained. "We think that by default your communications should be untraceable."
Wickr was billed as a secure social network where people could send text or voice messages as well as pictures or snippets of video with security in place to thwart snoops.
Wickr encrypts files end-to-end and, unlike typical email services, so no copies are left to linger on computer servers used to route messages.
Wickr messages and their contents are set to self-destruct, with senders getting to decide how long files continue to exist after being opened.
"After you view a message or picture, the application erases the forensics on the phone so no one could go back and find a trace of that," said co-founder Robert Statica, an engineering professor specialising security technology.
"If someone wants to recover the data forensically, all they will get is garbage."
Statica, who teaches at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, was at a San Francisco cafe with Sell last year when talk turned to headline-grabbing stories about athletes or film stars vexed by exposed text or email messages.
"We were laughing so hard that we almost got kicked out of the cafe," Statica recalled. "Before we left, we decided that [Wickr] was the way to go."
The startup's founders include military network security veteran Kara Coppa and computer crime investigations specialist Christopher Howell.
Versions of Wickr are being developed for laptop and desktop computers and as web browser "plug-ins" to augment popular email programs such as Gmail or Outlook with the security features.
"The most secure file you can have is a file that doesn't exist," Statica said. "That is the point from which we designed all these things."
Lawyers, doctors and others with professions inclined toward sensitive communications have shown strong interest in Wickr, according to the startup.
"We are already one of the most popular social media apps," Sell said on Friday.
The startup's plan was to always offer a free version of Wickr unencumbered by ads and rely on making money from users willing to pay for a premium version of the service with enhanced features.
Wickr rolled out globally but in some countries, such as France, it was awaiting licensing required when implementing encryption software, according to Statica.
More information about the application was available online at mywickr.com.

Ice Age 4 makes more business than Amazing Spider Man

Fox International’s animation juggernaut shows no sign of slowing up as the latest episode inspired a mighty launch despite opening on a smaller initial footprint than its predecessor. Sony’s Spidey reboot also debuted strongly in a relatively limited first wave.


Blue Sky Studios’ Ice Age: Continental Drift amassed $78.1m from 9,505 screens in 34 territories, arriving top of the table in each and posting a number one launch in the UK from previews ahead of the Jul 13 debut there. Roughly 4,200 screens were 3D.

This equates to roughly half the screen and market count of the day-and-date release of Ice Age 3 in July 2009. That behemoth went on to gross $694m internationally.

Fox International registered its biggest opening weekends in Mexico on $13.8m from 2,516 for 72% market share – the result also ranked as the third biggest industry debut – and Brazil on $6.9m from 1,010. France generated $11.8m from 1,072 to usurp The Avengers in the biggest launch of the year-to-date.

The film delivered $6.4m from 580 in Australia and set the industry’s biggest opening weekend in history in Argentina as $4.1m from 284 claimed 61% market share. Continental Drift ran riot in Latin America and in other all-time industry marks it grossed $3.2m from 296 in Colombia, $3.1m from 252 in Peru, $2.1m from 252 in Central America and $2m from 135 in Chile.

In a slew of all-time industry animated records the film scored $2.5m from 250 in Norway, $2m from 201 in Sweden for 54% market share, $830,104 from 89 in Ecuador and $346,038 from 23 in Bolivia.

Elsewhere Continental Drift opened in Spain on $4.1m from 829 and 45% market share despite the distraction of the national team’s participation in Sunday’s (Jul 1) Euro 2012 final against Italy, $1.4m from 407 in Turkey and $1.3m from 72 in the UAE.

The film is set to arrive in 14 further markets this week including Germany and Holland, followed by an additional wave of 16 markets day-and-date with North America including the UK and Russia. South Korea and India follow on Jul 26 and Jul 27 and Italy is set for Sept 28.

Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier directed Ice Age: Continental Drift from a screenplay by Michael Berg and Jason Fuchs. Ray Romano, Denis Leary and John Leguizamo lead the voice cast.

Fox International’s Prometheus added $6.2m from 4,592 screens in 58 markets as the running total climbed to $166.5m with Germany, Japan, Spain and Italy awaiting release. The UK has generated $36.1m after five weekends, Russia $22.1m after five, Australia $16.8m after four and France $16.5m after five.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter added $5m from 2,742 in 21 for an early $17.5m and sank its teeth into six new markets. Russia stands at $8.4m after two weekends. This Means War has reached $102.2m.

Sony Pictures Releasing International reported that Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man grossed approximately $50.2m from 13 markets in the first wave of webbed wonder as the Jul 3 North American launch approaches.
The webslinger – now played by British rising star Andrew Garfield opposite Emma Stone as love interest Gwen Stacy – largely avoided Europe while the Euro 2012 continues to play out. He fared best in South Korea and grossed $13.4m from 1,213 screens for 71% market share and the third biggest launch for a Hollywood film in the Thursday-Sunday time frame on KRW15.8bn. The result came in 24% higher than the Spider-Man 3 debut over the same period.

The Amazing Spider-Man arrived in Japan on $11.4m from 1,092 for 84% of weekend box office and opened on a terrific $6m from 1,236 for the biggest ever debut of a Hollywood title in India, where it exceeded the Spider-Man 3 debut by 74%, The Avengers by 73% and doubled the lifetime gross of The Dark Knight.

The Philippines produced $3.2m from 529 for the fourth biggest Friday-Sunday debut in history. Taiwan generated $2.9m from 268, Hong Kong $2.7m from 158 for the fourth biggest Friday-Sunday session ever, Singapore $2.5m from 128 for the third biggest Friday-Sunday launch, Thailand $1.9m from 320 and Vietnam $425,000 from 41.

Germany led the limited European launch pattern on $4.2m from 755 and 50% market share while Holland generated $850,000 from 113, Austria $480,000 from 85 and Switzerland $290,000 from 130.

MIB 3 added $6.4m from 4,355 in 80 markets to reach $429.8m and has grossed $37.6m in the lead market of Japan after six weekends and $32.8m in the UK after the same time scale.

DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3 drew a further $16.2m through Paramount Pictures International from 7,011 cinemas in 44 countries in its fourth weekend to bring the tally to $244.2m.
It added $1.9m in Russia from 600 cinemas for a dazzling $46m and a further $1.1m from 552 venues in Mexico for $23.5m. France generated $1.6m from 748 cinemas for $21m. Brazil is a big family market, nonetheless PPI will be thrilled with the $26.3m running total. Argentina stands at an excellent $13.5m.

After seven weeks in release The Dictator has reached $89m and France stands at $4m after two sessions. The comedy stayed top for the third consecutive weekend in Italy, where all eyes will be on the Euro 2012 final on Sunday night. The running total there is $2.3m.

Universal Pictures International previewed this weekend’s record breaking number one North American release Ted in Australia and reported an excellent $2.8m ahead of the official Jul 5 launch. The R-rated comedy will arrive across the world in the coming months.
Snow White And The Huntsman grossed a further $14.5m from 6,000 sites in 60 territories for a terrific $189m running total. The Five-Year Engagement stands $12.7m and American Pie: Reunion has reached $176.4m. Cannes International Film festival opener Moonrise Kingdom, which Universal distributes in the UK, New Zealand and Latin America, has taken $2.6m from the UK so far and just passed The Life Aquatic and became Wes Anderson’s third highest grossing film there.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International reported that Pixar’s Brave grossed $6.7m from 11 territories for an early $26.8m as part of the typical staggered release for Pixar titles. The Avengers brought in $1.1m for $841.1m.
Dark Shadows brought in $4.2m through Warner Bros Pictures International from 2,500 screens in 48 markets for $151.6m. Rock Of Ages stands at $11.6m. Tengo Ganas De Ti added $1.5m in Spain in the second weekend for $8.3m. Wanrer Bros Pictures presents a Zeta Cinema, Antena 3, Charanga and Estudios Hackenbush production.

Ice Age 4, Top on Aussie Box Office

School holidays helped boost the latest in the Ice Age animation series to the top of the Australian box office at the weekend.

Ice Age 4: Continental Drift took $4.9 million, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.

Second place-getter, the adult comedy TED, took $4.4 million despite only showing at preview screenings.

The top three placegetters from last week all dropped two places as a result - Snow White and the Huntsman fell to third, Brave was fourth and Prometheus finished fifth.

The school holidays also gave a boost to The Three Stooges, which lifted from 11th last weekend to sixth place, while the Adam Sandler comedy That's My Boy dropped from fourth to seventh spot.

Rock of Ages and Men In Black 3 also fell three places to finish at eighth and ninth respectively, while A Royal Affair fell one place to round out the Top Ten.

TOP 10 AT THE AUSTRALIAN BOX OFFICE THIS WEEKEND:

1. Ice Age 4: Continental Drift - $4.895 million (Fox)

2. TED - $4.383 million (Universal)

3. Snow White and the Huntsman - $3.488 million (Universal)

4. Brave - $1.901 million (Walt Disney)

5. Prometheus - $865,931 (Fox)

6. The Three Stooges - $560,221 (Fox)

7. That's My Boy - $382,224 (Sony Pictures)

8. Rock of Ages - $358,569 (Warner Bros)

9. Men in Black 3 - $348,172 (Sony Pictures)

10. A Royal Affair - $181,276 (Madmen)

Google Challenges Amazon with New Tablet

Google has unveiled its own branded tablet computer called the Nexus 7.

The tablet will have a screen that measures seven inches diagonally, smaller than the nearly 10 inches on Apple's popular iPad.

The starting $199 (£127) price tag means it is more likely to challenge Amazon's Kindle Fire.

The Nexus 7 will run the next version of Google's Android operating system, called Jelly Bean.

Although the tablet carries the Google brand, the machine will be made by Asus and will be available from mid-July.

The tablet is also designed specifically for Google Play, the company's online store for movies, music, games, books and apps.

Google also announced on Wednesday that Google Play will now offer movies for sale, rather than only rentals.

Last week, Microsoft Corp announced its own tablet, Surface.

Expected to go on sale later this year, Surface will run on a revamped version of Windows and compete directly with the iPad.

Google's Hugo Barra unveils the Nexus 7 tablet in San Francisco

Apple claims to shame Galaxy S III

With the launch of the iPhone 5 likely just a few months away, the head honcho at Foxconn spent some time this week praising the new Apple smartphone and putting down rivals.

According to a China Times quote reported by the Focus Tiawan News Channel, Foxconn chief executive Terry Gou spoke at the company’s annual shareholder meeting this week and told the audience that Apple’s iPhone 5 will “put Samsung’s Galaxy III to shame.” Gou apparently has a low opinion of the rival smartphone manufacturer and told shareholders that his new lifetime goal was to defeat Samsung. Gou even went so far to state that Samsung had a “track record of snitching on its competitors.” Gou was referring to an incident during 2010 in which Samsung provided details about four other Taiwanese companies in regards to a European Commission price-fixing inquiry about the development of flat-panels.



Beyond the iPhone 5, Gou also mentioned that the company signed an agreement with American glass manufacturer Corning for a supply of large glass panels. In addition, Gou spoke highly of television manufacturer Sharp and believes that the partnership between the two companies will provide a three-year competitive edge over Samsung. Gou is often intentionally vague about the products that Foxconn develops for Apple due to the high level of secrecy around the release of Apple products.

In a related report this week, Foxconn is rumored to start receiving Sharp LCD HDTV panels as early as July 1, 2012. Foxconn had originally planned to start receiving the panels during the fourth quarter of this year, but the schedule has been pushed up. The panels are expected to be implemented into the long-rumored Apple television set and the timing of the construction points to the possibility that Apple will launch the HDTV during the fourth quarter of 2012 just in time for the holiday shopping season. Sharp already supplies Apple with Retina displays for the new iPad and analysts have stated that Sharp’s Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide panels would be an ideal match for Apple branding.

Dolman Mall is insecure of Competitors

Dolman Malls Karachi offers free Wifi in Food Court and their premises but with certain restrictions. Websites of different Cinemas, Entertainment Points along with some other websites are blocked on the WiFi of the Dolman Malls Karachi.

This policy seems as Dolman Malls management are quit afraid of competition in the industry, along with they are insecure with other's success

Ufone "highly inspired" with 20th Century Fox

Ufone in their design work of Ufone Shahcar Scheme 2 seems very highly inspired with 20th Century Fox.

It may be due to same "20" in both, but the SWIFT Shandar needs little more justice with editing. It is the time that Ufone must concentrate upon hiring some new creative staff.

Extraordinarily dissatisfied with Pakistani action against Haqqanis

WASHINGTON - Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Martin E Dempsey joined Defence Secretary Leon E Panetta on Thursday in expressing unhappiness with Pakistan’s progress in battling the Haqqani network’s use of safe havens in Pakistan.
Pakistan is working to battle other threats within FATA, Dempsey told reporters. “Although we are extraordinarily dissatisfied with the effect that Pakistan has had on the Haqqani network, we are also mindful that they are conducting military operations, at great loss elsewhere,” Dempsey said.
Regional Command East, which includes Khost and Logar provinces, has seen an uptick in activity, largely due increased activity by the Haqqani network, Dempsey said. The Haqqani network was as big a threat to Pakistan as it was to Afghanistan and the United States, Dempsey said. He added that the US would continue to work with Pakistan to find common ground on ways to deal with the cross-border threat posed by the Haqqani network and other groups.
In addition to the recent activity by the Haqqani network, Dempsey said al Qaeda remained a threat in Pakistan, particularly within FATA, and to a lesser extent within Afghanistan. Coalition efforts had been very successful in eliminating al Qaeda leaders, though others continue to take their place, he added. Dempsey cited the June 4 death of Abu Yahya Al-Libi, al Qaeda’s second in command, as an example of those successes, calling it a significant loss for the terror group. “Most of those who 10 years ago we began tracking are no longer a part of al Qaeda, they’re no longer part of any organization,” Dempsey said. “We are at war with al Qaeda and we will pursue them wherever we find them,” he said.

as seen on PakistanToday

Alan Horn named as New Disney Studio Cheif

LOS ANGELES: The Walt Disney Co. on Thursday named a top Warner Bros executive to head its studio operations, replacing ousted chief Rich Ross who resigned month after the massive box office flop “John Carter.”Alan Horn was named chairman of Walt Disney Studios effective June 11, heading up production, distribution and marketing for films from Disney, Pixar and Marvel, and marketing and distribution for DreamWorks Studios.

Horn was most recently president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros. Entertainment where he had oversight of theatrical and home entertainment operations.

Under Horn, Warner notched up several blockbusters including the “Harry Potter” films, two “Sherlock Holmes” movies and several “Batman” productions including “The Dark Knight.””Horn has been a prominent figure in the film and television industry overseeing creative executive teams responsible for some of the world’s most successful entertainment properties including the Harry Potter film franchise and the hit television series ‘Seinfeld’ among others,” Disney said in a statement.

“Alan not only has an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience in the business, he has a true appreciation of movie making as both an art and a business,” said Disney chairman and chief executive Bob Iger.

“He’s earned the respect of the industry for driving tremendous, sustained creative and financial success, and is also known and admired for his impeccable taste and integrity. He brings all of this to his new role leading our studio group, and I truly look forward to working with him.””John Carter” was made by Oscar-winning director Andrew Stanton about a Civil War veteran transplanted to Mars and cost an estimated $250 million, but was met with a chorus of derision from critics.

Horn will head Disney operations that include Pixar, which has the “Toy Story” and “Cars” franchises, and Marvel, which made “Iron Man” and “The Avengers,” a blockbuster which has raked in some $1.25 billion worldwide.

Indian cosmetic queen shows no sign of abdicating

NEW DELHI: Shahnaz Husain was a bored Indian housewife when she spotted a gap in the beauty-treatment market and single-handedly set about building a global corporate empire.

More than 40 years on, Husain presides over a private company selling more than 250 products in 60 countries and is feted as one of India’s leading business gurus and a rare example of female success in its commercial sector.

“It’s not what you want, but how much you want it,” is her advice to budding entrepreneurs.

Renowned for her forthright style and glamorous appearance, Husain constructed her empire using a system of franchises that enabled her to ride the wave of ayurvedic treatments becoming fashionable around the world.

Ayurveda, which originated in India, aims to restore balance in the mind and body through herbal therapy, diet and massage.

Its lucrative commercialisation is sometimes criticised by doctors in India, who believe it is a scientifically proven holistic approach to health, but Husain has no such qualms.

“I am selling people 5,000 years of Indian civilisation in a bottle,” Husain says, tossing her leonine hair with a verve belying her nearly 70 years.

The Shahnaz Husain Group now stretches across India and to Dubai and London, where her products sell at top department store Selfridges and where she runs a clinic in Harley Street.

“Husain pioneered selling ayurvedic products across the counter,” Ina Dawer, a Singapore-based analyst at marketing research firm Euromonitor, told AFP.

“She’s basically an upscale premium ayurvedic brand.”

Now Husain’s daughter, Nelofar Currimbhoy, has written a biography, “Flame”, tracing the unusual life story of her mother, who was engaged at 14, wed at 16 and became a mother the same year.

“She’s a true example of an integrated Indian – a Muslim taught by Irish nuns who has spent her life devoted to propagating a (Hindu) Vedic system of medicine,” says Currimbhoy.

Key to her success has been developing treatments that were once only found in Indian ayurvedic centres into products suitable for Western spas, health resorts and individual consumers.

“I was the only game in town for this and I was good at it,” she recounts at her Delhi mansion, whose exterior resembles an English country house while inside is a rich mix of rococo, Art Deco, classical and Indian styles.

“I was so busy I didn’t have time to count the money,” she says.

Her products are now sold in some 150,000 stores in India and she has 300 salon franchises and 53 beauty schools, according to the company, which does not release sales figures.

Born in pre-independence India, Husain had a sheltered childhood, riding to school in chauffeured cars with curtained windows that she kept opening to peer at the world outside, to her conservative Muslim mother’s dismay.

Her more liberal father “never forgave himself for letting me marry so young”, she says, clad in a dramatic self-designed silver-sequined black gown.

“He had such ambitions for me, he wanted me to go to Oxford, but my mother worried I’d get out of hand, and he gave in.”

Despite her tender years, the marriage was a huge success and Husain was heartbroken when her husband died 15 years ago.

He and Husain’s father supported her when she was overcome with boredom at home and was seized with a passion to become a beautician.

She trained at several European beauty schools and then started a salon at her Delhi home in 1970. Offering free consultations and charging for her pots of creams, she was soon flooded by clients.

Sitting giggling together, mother and daughter could be sisters.

Currimbhoy is now president of the company but even today Husain, who declines to reveal her age, is the one who calls the shots. Staff, summoned by buzzers attached to chairs, scurry at her beck and call.

Multinational rivals such as Estee Lauder and The Body Shop have not been slow to spot potential in the expanding ayurvedic sector.

But Husain, who has lectured on her success to Harvard business students, says she is ready for the competition and plans to soon launch a new stem-cell anti-ageing potion – tentatively called “Ageless”.

“We’re a serious treatment line, we’re not just a cosmetics company,” she says.

as seen on Dawn.com

PIA Styles Over Years

Until the famous Pakistani designer Naheed Azfar rendered a more localised and traditional look to the PIA flight attendant in the 80s, her uniform was taken to be the Pakistani fashion statement on the international scene. The PIA pyjamas designed by Pierre Cardin in 1966 are still remembered as a symbol of the style and sophistication exuded by the national carrier in the early years. Naheed Azfar’s design marked the beginning of a new era; a coming of age, as it were, for the institution and a need to promote a more indigenous look.

“I remember when my design came out in 1986, it received such bad reviews, especially from the fashion gurus who thought the design was extremely boring,” says Azfar.

She did not care about the bad reviews though, for Azfar saw her relationship with PIA as strictly professional: that of a client and vendor where she had to cater to the needs of the client, serving it best to its satisfaction while keeping her creative license in perspective. “I was not making a fashion statement here. I imagined the PIA air hostess to be a working woman, just like any other working woman who wants to wear comfortable yet localised attire while on duty,” she says.

For a thankless job however that eventually came her way, Azfar reportedly did not receive a single penny, nor was there any documentation of the entire project. “There is nothing on paper to date. No signing of any documents, or any official letters. As far as the monetary side was concerned “it was all Kamal’s (her husband) fault who told the PIA head then that it was a matter of prestige and honour to be designing for the national flag carrier, and that his wife could not accept any money for it,” says Azfar, smiling at the memory.

“This was probably the year 1984, when some designers, both local and foreign, were summoned by PIA to present designs for change in the airhostesses’ uniforms. All the designers were separately briefed on what the requirements were,” she recalls.

“All the briefings given to respective designers were apparently different for some odd reason,” she laughs. “I was told that there should be no greens or reds. Besides, it should not be a kurta, but it definitely could not be a body hugging design.”

After all, this was the early 80s — the era of General Ziaul Haq.

More than the fact that her creative freedom was somewhat restricted, Azfar confesses that the big challenge was to adhere to the requirements and yet present an attractive look. “The PIA staff made it clear that no front open designs were allowed and that there should not be any pockets whatsoever. Some thought the flight attendants might be tempted to sneak crockery by hiding it in their pockets,” Azfar says, shrugging her shoulders. There were times when she really wanted to walk away from the project. “I was disappointed with PIA’s doublespeak,” she says, but she had invested too much in the project to leave it high and dry.

So began the uphill task of designing. “The PIA air hostess came to my mind as a working woman who needed to wear a comfortable uniform at work. Yet it should be styled on classical lines.”

Unlike the Pierre Cardin and Sir Hardy Amies’ (Queen Elizabeth’s personal designer) designs in the 60’s with the shirt having a shorter hemline, Naheed added almost four inches to it, and the shalwar’s paaincha was wider. “I believed that the design should be relevant for a longer period of time. It should not be a fashion statement, neither should it be ethnicity specific,” says Azfar.

While she was in the process of finalising her concepts, someone realised that the colour green needed to be an integral part of the design, so it was back to the drawing board. Finally some three to four designs were ready for presentation. “I gave the shirt a princess cut with a length just a little under the knees. Also, the shirt had the logo of PIA as a recurring motif all over. The dupatta was striped.”

The uniforms were in four colours, separate for summer and winter. A lighter green and dull pink were worn during the summer while a darker green and a little close to burgundy were the winter colours. They were finished off with a run-around pattern in pink and green on the sleeves and shirt slits. “The client had asked for the braid. If I were consulted, I would have removed it.”

The shoes and bags were in burgundy. “The bag I believed,” says Azfar, “should be an organiser bag that could accommodate belongings in various compartments.”

At the cut-off date, the designers were flown from Karachi and other parts of the world, to the CNC’s house in Islamabad where they were to present their designs. “I remember the presentation took place in the drawing room of the President’s house. There were five to six people on the judges’ panel that included General Ziaul Haq, Begum Ziaul Haq, Mrs Atiya Inayatullah, Mrs Tooba Yaqub Khan etc.; Mrs Atiya Inayatullah was the most vocal and critical.”

The judges studied the designs very meticulously. “When the models walked in wearing my design, the judges were taken aback by the PIA logo used as a motif on the shirts. The panel thought that the design truly looked like a uniform.” But there were some critical comments too.

“I remember General Ziaul Haq thought the design was too fitted. I can’t forget the comment that he made, ‘you wear loose clothes yourself but your design seems too fitted,” Afar laughs.

Though she incorporated the changes, Azfar was disheartened to find that PIA claimed the designs to have been made by an in-house designer.

Soon however, it was all over the place that Naheed Azfar had designed the PIA uniforms. “My design was not outside the culture that we live in. We normally don’t wear western clothes. Besides, we carry a sense of modesty in the hardware of our minds that shows in the way we dress. I had this factor in mind when I designed the uniform”.

Naheed Azfar’s design remained the official uniform of the PIA flight attendant from the years 1986 till 2003. She was never bothered by the critical reviews, and she revels in the fact that the current design is an extension of her design with some minor variations. “I suppose part of it was jealousy also, that a very trendy and an international design was changed. Yet it was a practical design steeped in classical tradition,” Azfar says proudly.

as seen on dawn.com

Building Rotates 360 degrees

 Company in Brazil (Suite Vollard) constructed a building in which each floor can rotate 360 degrees. Each building has 11 apartments and each apartment can spin individually in any direction. One rotation takes a full hour, but apartment owner can set rotation speed through apartment control panel. Facades are made of three different types of glass which give wonderful effects when building spins during the sunset. Cost of each apartment is $US 300,000.00.

Manatee can speak like Human

Manatees possess vocal chords which give them the ability to speak like humans, but don't do so because they have no ears with which to hear the sound.

Toucan Colors and Habits

Toucan is a brightly colored bird commonly found in the rain forests of the Central and South America. Toucans are birds with variety in color as well as the size. Bright in color having red, blue, yellow, orange etc. and the size varies from 14 to 30 inches. These birds have a distinguished feature by having a long bill that is approximately half the size of their body. This bill is not very sharp or strong but is made of a tough material and helps the bird in getting food from inside the holes of the trees and help them protect themselves. The birds live on trees in a group of six to seven birds. They have big claws that help them balance on the trees, the two claws are in the front and two at the back. There colorful wings help them ambush with the leaves and the fruits. They are quite lazy birds and do not fly high or far away, they stay in the jungles and enjoy the fruits of the trees on which they live.

Toucans are forgivers as well as omnivores. Though they mainly eat fruits but also feed upon insects, rodents, reptiles, eggs and chicks of the other birds. Toucans are mostly hunted by the humans, big birds, jaguars and wild cats. There are almost 37 species of toucans. They generally stay alone or with a mate. The female gives 3 to 4 eggs at a time and both together incubate the eggs. The young ones have very small bill which takes few months to develop properly. They are very noisy and make loud sounds. When it comes to rest they roll themselves and sleep in the holes of the trees. The facts show that Toco Toucan with orange yellowish colored bill about 7.5 inches is the largest toucan and the smallest species is the Aracar Toucanet. Toucans are related to woodpeckers.

Something Interesting about George Washington

On February 22, 1732 George Washington was born. George Washington was the only of all Founding Fathers to free his slaves. Marijuana was the primary crop grown by George Washington at Mount Vernon. He was the first Mason to serve as president. Washington rejected a movement among army officers to make him king of the United States. Washington is the only president who was elected unanimously. 

Wasim Akram goes to Ufone from Mobilink

Islamabad—Wasim Akram has once again joined Ufone as its brand ambassador. It is important to mention here that he was part of the initial team when Ufone was launched.

Wasim Akram is a world famous celebrity and is one of the greatest heroes of Pakistan. He started his career as a fast bowler; then he went on to become a commentator, a recognized coach at country’s premier National Cricket Academy and last but not the least a successful television anchor.

To mark the renewal of Wasim’s tenure with Ufone, a brilliantly executed television commercial has been aired and it is wonderful to see Wasim Akram exude confidence, class and style coupled with success.

Wasim was associated with Ufone when it was at an infancy stage. Majority can easily recall the initial campaigns in which Wasim Akram was seen in an advertisement where the legendary cricketer visits a Ufone office. It is heartening to note both Ufone and Wasim Akram have transformed themselves as icons in their respective fields over a time period.

Akbar Khan Chief Marketing Officer at Ufone said, ‘Seeing Wasim Akram return to Ufone is indeed a pleasure and privilege’. ‘We are pleased to have a celebrity with such a diverse profile associated with Ufone and we are proud to call Wasim one of our own’, he added.

Subscribers using other networks can simply dial 033 1236 1236 from their mobile phone to join Ufone’s network.

Passion Vine : Unique Flowers

The fascinating and passionate Passion Vine is a popular plant with gardeners due to its intricate, scented flowers

that have an almost plastic-looking appearance. It is also called Passion Flower and it has about 500 species.

Uno Motorbike: A perfect Electric One Wheel Vehicle

18 year old, a student from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Toronto, Ben Gulak designed his unique motorcycle with a pair of wheels 1″ apart side fitted into a Yamaha R1 Frame side to  give the ride more stability. The Uno transforms from a unicycle to a motorcycle. Amazingly, the Uno weighs only 120lbs and has no controls, except for a simple on/off switch. To go forward you simply push your body weight forward to tilt the machine. To back up, just lean back on the seat to tilt it backwards and back it goes. The Uno’s speed id controlled by how far you lean forward or back and is completely controlled by an ECU (electronic control unit) which is attached to the motor. The Uno is currently a one-off, but looks and sounds very cool indeed!

as seen on bikeglam.com

Interesting Facts about Pan Cakes

Pancakes are eaten all around the world throughout the year but in some countries special days are reserved such as Shrove Tuesdays, Easter and lot more. Pancakes are thin cakes made of batter of milk, flour, sugar, butter and eggs baked in a griddle or fried in a pan. At times buttermilk is used in place of milk to make the cake more fluffy and soft.

Different places carry different tales with the pancakes. In Newfoundland people add items to the batter and use them to tell future of the family members before cooking the pancake. In France people make a wish, touching the handle of the pan keeping a coin in one hand while tossing the cake. One man was so fond of the pancakes that he ran a race, tossing the pancakes.

Pancakes are served with variety of syrups at different place. Some countries serve it with maple syrup made of sap collected from maple trees; some serve it with jellies and still others with jams. Ready mix for the pancakes is also available in the market.

Some facts recorded about the pancakes tell that Buchinghamshire was the first to celebrate the Pancake Day in 1445. The least amount of time taken for tossing the pancakes for the maximum time was in U. K. when the pancakes were tossed 349 times in 2 seconds. It was in 1994 that the biggest pancake was cooked which weighed three tons and was of 15 meters width in Rochdale. World�s Largest Pancake Breakfast was held in 1986 to celebrate 350th anniversary of Massachusetts and since then this is practiced every year and many people volunteer their help for the same.

As seen on interestingfacts.org

Asia, in Landmass, is Larger than Moon

The continent largest in landmass and that of population is Asia. Asia has the world's 60% of population that accounts to almost 4 billion people. The statistics prove that two countries hold half of Asia's population; one being India and other is China. Though China is ahead India but it is believed that in another 20 years India will have the highest population. Asia, in landmass has larger than the moon.

Gold in Sea Water

A typical cubic kilometre (a billion tonnes) of seawater is a treasury of often valuable elements - there are reckoned to be 5,000 million million tonnes of solids dissolved in the world's oceans, but sodium chlorine (combined as sodium chloride - common salt) are the only two that are extracted in substantial quantities.

The cost extracting elements such as Gold, even though as much as 500 kilos of it can be found in the average cubic kilo metre of sea water, would be so expensive that with current technology it is not economical to do so.