81st Annual Academy Award - Slumdog Millionaire won 8 Oscars, 2 for A R Rahman

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - A film with Indian base swept eight Oscars at the 81st Annual Academy Award on 22nd February, 2009. Indian Music director grabs 2 Oscars for Jai Ho... Composition in Slumdog Millionaire and become 1st Indian to do so.

Slumdog Millionaire nominated in 9 categories and won in 8 including Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Film Editing, Original Score, Original Song.

Sean Penn won Best Actor Award in a Leading Role in Milk and Kete Wislet won Best Actress in a Leading Role while late Heath Ledger won Best Supporting Actor for his memorable role in The Dark Knight.

81st Oscar Award Winners

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Direction: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Song: A R Rahman and Gulzar for ‘Jai Ho...’ (Slumdog Millionarie)

Best Original Score: A R Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Sean Penn for Milk.

Best Actressin a Leading Role: Kate Winslet for The Reader

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Foreign Language Film: Departures (Japan)

Best Film Editing: Chris Dickens for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Sound Mixing: Ian Tapp, Resul Pookutty for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Documentary Short Subject: Megan Mylan for Smile Pinki

Best Sound Editing: Richard King for The Dark Knight

Best Visual Effects: Eric Barba for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Documentary Feature Film: James Marsh for Man on Wire

Best Live action short film: Jochen Alexander for Spielzeugland Toyland

Best Make-up: Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Costume Design: Michael O’Connor for The Duchess

Best Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Animated Short Film: Kunio Kato for La Maison En Petits Cubes

Best Animated Feature: Andrew Stanton for Wall-E

Best Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk

Photos of 81st Annual Academy Award

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Sean Penn for Milk


Best Actressin a Leading Role: Kate Winslet for The Reader


Best Direction: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire


Best Sound Mixing: Ian Tapp, Resul Pookutty for Slumdog Millionaire


Slumdog Millionaire Team

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight


Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona

The Change is Barack Obama: Is the Change Good or Bad?

Change we need.... and change has come. Democratic Illinois senator Barack Obama has been elected as the first black president of the USA. Obama leading the race by 338 to 156 as few results has to come and much ahead of essential 270 electoral college votes.

Obama captured the key battleground states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, while projections showed he had also taken California and a slew of other states. Then came the news that he had also seized Florida, Virginia and Colorado, all of which voted Republican in 2004, the country is turning from Red to Blue.

In Indiana and North Carolina, with most of the vote counted, there was less than 0.5% differance between the two candidates. At 0440 GMT it stood at 51.1% in the favour of Illinois Democratic Senator, against 47.7% for Arizona Republican Senator McCain.

John McCain has accepted defeat and given best wishes to next US president. President George W Bush als Congratiulate his predecessor.

2008 US Election - Is McCaine ready for Third and Final Debate vs Obama?

Third and final presidential debate for the race of White House between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain starting at 0100 GMT at Hofstra University on Long Island. This is the last chance for McCain to bounce back as just 19 days to go for November 4 vote.

37 year old Illinois senator Barack Obama leading by 14 points to 72 year old rival Arizona senator John McCain in one of the latest poll in United States.

A latest poll by New York Times-CBS News on late Tuesday had Obama ahead of McCain by the big margin of 14 points, 53 to 39 percent, compared to a lead of just three points before last week's second presidential debate.

All the negative tactics was back fired to McCain like Obama's links to 1960s radical turned Chicago education professor William Ayers.

Another new survey by the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg showed Obama was ahead by nine points, 50 to 41 percent. As the economy is the major concern for Americans right now, and Obama was their preferred candidate.

Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, "Obama will talk about he's doing for weeks, i.e. will talk about his plan for the economy".

Hope it will be a fair debate before the November 4 election and McCain will show some positive attitude against Obama.

Manmohan Singh led UPA won Trus Vote by 275/256

Indian Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh led UPA won the vote of trust in the Parliament by a comfortable margin on Tuesday, 22nd July, 2008. UPA government won the vote of confidence by 275 votes in favor and 256 against. Big step towards Ind0-US Nuclear deal.

Indian Parliament has 541 seats, and from the initial figures showed 253 votes in favor of the motion, 232 against and 2 abstentions in a total vote of 487. In the final results UPA got 275 in favor and 256 against and 10 abstentions.

After a long debate Speaker Somnath Chatterjee ordered voting by electronic voting machine. Even before the final result was announced, all the members of ruling alliance went to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to greet them on the victory in the confidence motion.

UPA government was in trouble after Left parties, which provided outside support since May 2004, withdrew it on the issue of government operationalising the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal by approaching the IAEA.

Pakistan Election- Benazir's PPP and Sharif's PML-N are in Lead

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's opponents headed for election victory on Tuesday after voters rejected his former ruling party. Counting is on in Pakistan, where elections for its national and provincial assemblies were held on Monday.

No party is expected to win a majority in the 342-seat National Assembly but the opposition parties of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto (PPP) and another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif (PML-N), were set to be the biggest.

Early trends in Pakistan’s vote-count show that so far there is no clear winner, though former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's party appears to have taken a narrow lead, according to preliminary results.

While the Election Commission is yet to officially announce the turnout or any of the results, the initial trends do not augur well for Musharraf.

What has, however, emerged is that the ruling PML-Q, which backs Musharraf, seems to be the clear loser.

Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has been expected to reap a sympathy vote and was doing well, partial results showed.

Political Parties participating in Pakistan Election

Following are the political Parties participating in Today's Election.

PPP:
Benazir Bhutto's, Pakistan Peoples Party, now led by her widower Asif Zardari. The party hopes to get sympathy votes after Benazir's tragic death.

PML-N:
The PML-N is led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Sharif who returned from years of exile last year is barred from serving another term as prime minister but his party has an understanding with the PPP to form a coalition government just in case.

PML-Q:
The PML-Q was formed mainly with defectors from Nawaz Sharif's party after the 1999 coup. Since then it has been the main political face of President Musharraf's government together with smaller provincial allies. It was the disputed victor of the last elections in 2002.

MMA:
Wrangling over an election boycott has led to a division in the six-party religious alliance, the MMA. The alliance emerged as the third largest group in the last elections and has sided with Musharraf. The largest party in the alliance, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam of Maulana Fazlur Rahman, has decided to contest the elections despite a boycott appeal by the alliance chief.

APDA:
The All Parties Democratic Alliance, a grouping of several opposition parties, almost all nationalist groups from Balochistan and one of the two main Pashtun nationalist groups from the north-west.

Among the parties boycotting the elections are cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaaf.

Election Day in Pakistan: Fear of more terror attacks

Finally, it's election time in Pakistan. Over eight crore people vote for the National Assembly as well as the provincial assemblies today. The run-up to the elections has seen widespread violence including the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Not in recent memory has there been an election that has attracted so much attention, despite it being well known that it won’t amount to much. It reflects the world’s anxiety over Pakistan. It also reflects how much the world wants the Pakistan ship to right itself with these elections and sail out of troubled waters.

There are apprehensions of widespread rigging. Over 1000 observers, including those from the United States and the European Union will be monitoring the elections.

Pakistan witnessed a violent start to the general elections on Monday as a PML-N candidate was shot dead in Lahore while a blast hit a polling booth in Swat Valley, even before the voting began.

Musharraf to stay out of PM selection

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said the political parties would have to decide on a prime ministerial candidate through mutual consultations in the event of the general election on Sunday, throwing up a fractured verdict and insisted that he would play no role in this process.

Interacting with a team from the Centre for Media and Democracy that is in the country to monitor the polls, Musharraf on Saturday said he would not interfere in the process to select a prime minister if none of the parties secured a majority in the next Parliament.

He was responding to a question from the observers on his role in the event of the polls throwing up a fractured verdict.

Musharraf responded that the choosing of a prime minister in such circumstances would be part of the Parliamentary process and the parties would have to decide on a prime minister through mutual consultations.

He also said the government had taken several steps to address concerns of rigging expressed by the political parties.

Observers from across the world were being given all assistance to monitor the polls to ensure that they are free and fair, Musharraf was quoted as saying by Geo New channel.

Jemima turns journalist in Pakistan

As cricket-turned-politician Imran Khan leads a boycott campaign against Monday's elections, much of the media attention in Pakistan has also focused on his former wife Jemima, who has travelled down from London to join him.

Jemima, who has led the protests against President Pervez Musharraf in London and famously described slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto as a kleptocrat, has kept away from the public gaze in Pakistan.

But donning a new avatar she turned journalist for a day when she met and interviewed Musharraf for British newspaper The Independent.

Imran said Jemima was passionate about the democratic process in Pakistan. Though no longer his wife, she could still play a larger political role.

Pakistan Election: Asif Zardari demands fair election from govt.

On the eve of parliamentary polls in Pakistan, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari is 100 % confident of garnering a majority but warned President Pervez Musharraf-led government not to rig the election, which will force him to launch massive street protests leading to the break-up of the nation.

''Up till now I've shown absolute patience. My wife (former Premier Benazir Bhutto) has been killed, yet I've calmed people down, stopped them protesting. I've called no strike,'' Zardari said in an interview to The Sunday Times published on Sunday.

''But I'm telling you, people are absolutely on the warpath. If the elections are rigged the situation will go out of my hands. We'll have no choice but to take to the streets,'' he added.

Zardari was made co-chairman of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) after Bhutto's assassination on December 27 last year. Their son Bilawal, who is studying at Oxford, was named the Chairman of the party.

''I feel her (Bhutto's) spirit is with me and I won't let her down. But I fear they did not kill Benazir just to let us win... We've played our part responsibly.

''We've taken part in the elections rather than boycotted. Now it's up to them to give us a free run. People are angry, they are on the breadline, despite the 60 billion dollar windfall Musharraf has enjoyed over the past eight years.

''They want change and they want democracy. If we're allowed free and fair elections I'm 100 % sure we will get a majority,'' Zardari said, while warning that Pakistan would face massive violence which could lead to its break-up if the Musharraf government carries out alleged plans to rig or disrupt the polls.

MNS Chief Raj Thackeray Arrested by Mumbai Police

The Mumbai police finally arrested Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party chief Raj Thackeray under different sections of IPC for promoting enmity between communities.

The police had earlier filed an FIR against the MNS chief under Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A (promoting enmity between groups on the basis of places of birth, residence etc) 153D (assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 117 (abetting the commission of any offence by the public) of the IPC.

All of these charges are cognizable and non-bailable offences.

A Mumbai police team, comprising 16 top police officers and over 200 personnel, arrived at Raj Thackeray's residence at around 1230 hrs IST on Wednesday and arrested Raj at about 1618 hrs IST even as police and paramilitary forces maintained tight security around the city in anticipation of a possible backlash by MNS workers.

One battalion of Rapid Action Force and three strike force of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) guarded the police team.

Yahoo set to rebuff Microsft's bid

Yahoo Inc is set to reject Microsoft corporation's unsolicited bid, now worth $42 billion, as too low, a source familiar with the situation told. The first clear signal the board might be prepared to negotiate and sell the Internet giant.

The Wall Street Journal had quoted an unnamed source as saying Microsoft's offer of $31 per share was an attempt to 'steal" the company and that Yahoo was unlikely to consider anything under $40 per share - double its price in January. At that level, the value of the cash and stock deal would be worth $51.1 billion.

If completed, a merger of Microsoft and Yahoo would be the world's largest of two computer technology companies and create a formidable rival to Internet search and advertising leader Google Inc.

Yahoo has been considering options, including negotiating a higher price and striking a deal with Google to take over its search operations to keep Yahoo independent, the Journal said.

The newspaper reported Yahoo's board meet on Friday.

No alternate bidder has emerged and Wall Street has been betting that the likeliest outcome was for Yahoo Inc's board to negotiate for a higher price from Microsoft.

"Are they really serious about nothing less than $40 or is it a negotiating tactics to try to get a richer price?" Global Crown Capital analyst Martin Pyykkonen said, "To me it sounds like a counter-negotiation tactic. May be they end up setting for $35, $36 or $37 a share."

Microsoft offers to acquire Yahoo Inc.

The world's largest software-maker Microsoft offered on Friday to acquire leading Internet firm Yahoo Inc. for about $44.6 billion with an aim to leverage its position in the online service market.

The Bill Gates, founded Microsoft said that its $31-per-share offer values Yahoo! at about $44.6 billion in cash and stock (62% premium above the latter's closing stock price on the Nasdaq on Thursday).

The offer was disclosed first letter sent to Yahoo! Board of Directors on Thursday by Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer.

The take-over bid for Yahoo! comes amid a below-expected fourth quarter performance and growing competition for the two companies from fast-growing Google in the online market.

The online advertising market is growing at a very fast pace, from over $40 billion in 2007 to nearly billion $80 by 2010.

with Google emerging as one of the biggest beneficiary of this market, analysts believe that a combination of Microsoft and Yahoo was imminent to take on the competition from the Internet Search giant.

Microsoft's proposal would allow Yahoo shareholders to opt cash or a fixed number of Microsoft shares, with the total consideration payable to Yahoo shareholders consisting of one-half cash and one-half Microsoft common stock.

The company said it believes the proposed combination would receive all necessary regulatory approvals and the proposed transaction would be completed in the second half of calendar year 2008.

Microsoft also said it intends to offer significant retention packages to Yahoo engineers, key leaders and employees across all disciplines.

Yahoo Inc. confirmed on Friday that it had, indeed, received an unsolicited bid from Microsoft Corporation to acquire the company, and added that its Board of Directors would consider the $44.6 billion deal in due course of time.

Yahoo issued a statement which said that its board would evaluate the proposal "carefully and promptly in the context of the firm's strategic plans and pursue the best course of action to maximize long-term value for shareholders.

So hope a tough competition for Google from Microsoft in Online Marketing.

Anna Loginova - Russia's most Glamorous Female Bodyguard Killed

Anna Loginova, Russia's most famous and glamorous female bodyguard, was killed in Moscow on Sunday while trying to defend her Porsche Cayenne from a hijacker, media reported.

Loginova, also a former model and the head of a private security firm, tried to fight off a carjacker and clung to the door handle. She was killed after being dragged along the street at high speed as the car screeched away.

A witness to the carjacking said a man ran from a Lada car, as Loginova's Porsche came to a stop, pulled her out of the vehicle and jumped in the driving seat. Loginova was still hanging onto the door when the Porsche screeched away.

Anna Loginova was dragged a few meters along the road and only let go when her head hit the tarmac. She was confirmed dead at the scene.

Anna was the manager of an agency that provided female bodyguards to give secretive protection to Moscow’s wealthy celebrities, their wives and mistresses. Some of her body guards were trained by ex-KGB staff.

The stolen vehicle was found later abandoned in southwest Moscow.

The police are continuing their search to trace those involved in the car theft and death of the famous model.

Loginova was a famous Russian model before venturing into the security business. She took lessons Jiu-Jitsu and mastered the sword handling.

In a recent magazine interview, she insisted that she and her team of glamorous bodyguards gave better protection than the more traditional beefy male security men.

Anna had posed half-naked for a magazine in Moscow. She wanted to prove that she was feminine as well as good with gun. She was highly respected for her bodyguard skills.

She said, "Many restaurants now do not allow a guard inside. They can come in and check everything but then they are asked to wait in the lobby. In contrast, you can take female bodyguards inside, she will sit down at the table and nobody would guess that she's a weapon herself.

World's Cheapest Car - Tata Nano

Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata on Thursday unveiled much awaited and much hyped Rs 1 lakh Car ($2,500) the Tata Nano at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi.

Ratan Tata, while unveiling the Nano, said: "The car will meet all current safety norms and all emission criteria. The pollution it will cause will be lower than 2-wheelers."

This is the People’s Car, the world’s cheapest car at a starting price of 100,000 rupees ($2,500) or the equivalent of a DVD player in a Lexus.

The prototype of the Nano, the official name of the ultra-cheap car manufactured by Tata, the Indian conglomerate in the lead to buy Jaguar and Land Rover, was unveiled at the auto show in Delhi today with all the frenzied excitement that accompanied the launch of the new Volkswagen Beetle in 1994.

Citing moments in history including the first manned flight by the Wright Brothers and man’s landing on the moon, Ratan Tata, the chairman of the company, revealed a cute, compact car designed to appeal to first-time car buyers in one of the world’s fastest growing car markets.

The car will have a 624-cc petrol engine generating 33 bhp of power. It will sport a fuel tank and 30-litre4-speed manual gearshift. The car will come with air conditioning, but will have no power steering. It will have front disk and rear drum brakes. The company claims mileage of 23 km per litre.

The standard version – which will cost 120,000 rupees on the road after tax and delivery – comes complete with most features in any ordinary car: four doors, a four-gear manual transmission, seat belts, locking and a steering wheel. A small boot allows enough room for a duffel bag.

The deluxe version, costing slightly more, will have air conditioning and central locking, while features such as radios and sun visors can be added at extra cost.

The car will be sold first in India, with an initial production run of 250,000 a year, but is expected to be made available in other emerging markets in Latin America, south-east Asia and Africa within four years. It will launch commercially in the second half of the year.

The Nano is about half the price of the cheapest car available. Both the Maruti 800 from India and China’s QQ3Y Chery sell at about $5,000. The prospect of millions of ultra-cheap cars on the roads of developing countries has sent some environmentalists into a panic.

Tata says the car, which does 50 miles to the gallon, will conform to all present and future emission standards in India and Europe. It has also passed a full-frontal crash test and is designed to pass further impact testing under European standards, he added.

Benazir Bhutto killed in suicide attack on election rally.

Finally former Pakistan Primier Benazir Bhutto has been assasinated. After surviving several assassination attempts in the past, PPP and Pakistan opposition leader and former PM Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on Thursday in a suicide attack at a campaign rally that also killed at least 20 others.

The attacker struck just minutes after Bhutto addressed thousands of supporters in Rawalpindi. Benazir Bhutto was not so lucky on Thursday as she was killed by two gunmen who opened fire at her right after she finished addressing a rally at Liaquatbagh.

Bhutto got off the stage after addressing the rally and started moving towards her car. Her vehicle moved a certain distance and she was surrounded by party supporters. She came out of the car and just then two attackers with AK 47s pumped her with bullets, one in the neck and two in the head. After shooting, a third attacker blew himself up near Benazir's car.

Benazir was declared dead at 6.16 pm local time at a Rawalpindi hospital, 40 minutes after she was taken in. The attack also killed more than 20 people and left several others injured.

Nawaz Sharif described Benazir Bhutto's assassination as the most tragic incident in the history of Pakistan.

''I myself feel threatened,'' says Sharif, whose party temporarily suspended the electioneering in the wake of the assassination.

Bhutto is survived by her husband Asif Ali Zardari and three children. Before she returned to Pakistan in October, Benazir Bhutto told that she was not afraid of the threats.

In October some 130 people were killed in an attack on Bhutto's cavalcade when she returned to the country.

Benazir was the first female PM in the Muslim world. Three days of national mourning has been declared. The national flag will be flown at half mast.

Benazir is likely to be buried on Friday in Larkana near her father's grave. National and provincial assembly elections in Pakistan are due on January 8.

It was one of the worst incidents of violence in a year of deteriorating security in Pakistan.

KAKA - FIFA Player of the Year 2007

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, popularly known as "KAKA" - Brazil and AC Milan's playmaker has simply been the outstanding footballer of 2007 and proved that claim by winning the FIFA Player of the Year award (The FIFA World Player of the Year is a football award given annually to the male and female player who are thought to be the best in the world, based on votes by coaches and captains of international teams.) on Monday, in Paris. Kaka had already been named European Footballer of the Year and took another award from World Soccer magazine.

“It's a very special day for me. When I was young, I dreamt of being a professional footballer for Sao Paulo and playing for the Brazilian national team,” said the attacking midfielder after receiving the award.

The 25-year-old Kaka starred in AC Milan's run to the European Champions League title, then the European Super Cup and the recent Club World Cup.

Kaka plays in the style of a classic number 10 such as legends Pele, Diego Maradona, Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane, whom so many youngsters dream of emulating.

Kaka, comes from a comfortably off family in Sao Paulo, not from the slums which have produced so many top Brazilians, and aged just 20 played in his first World Cup in 2002 where Brazil won the title for the fifth time.

His talent was as obvious and he was a key component of AC Milan's 2003/2004 Italian league winning team which finished 11 points ahead of AS Roma.

He was the main contributor in Ac Milan's Europiun Championship last year, his strike rate of 10 goals in 13 matches in the Champions League helped AC Milan avenge their defeat to Liverpool in the 2005 final.

As his career has progressed, he has become more fluent in his movement, has continually improved technically and has generally got better and better in all departments. He is constantly targetted by top European club to include in thier team. Real Madrid offered AC Milan 90 million euros (123 million US dollars) for Kaka.

Kaka, the highest earning footballer in Italy, "has never wanted to leave and I believe that he will never do so... Kaka is the symbol of Milan," AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi said.

The AC Milan playmaker, who is expected to sign a new contract with the Italian giants in the coming weeks that will keep him at the club until 2013, was also crowned player of the Club World Cup following Milan's successful campaign in which they beat Argentinian side Boca Juniors 4-2 in the final.

Kaka's impressive individual honours list for 2007 now includes the FIFA Player of the Year, Ballon d'Or, World Soccer Magazine, UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and FIFPro World Player of the Year.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old compatriot Marta was named Women's FIFA Player of the Year for the second year running.

A 19 year old boy killed eight people and then himself in Omaha

A 19 year old man killed eight people and then himself with an assult rifel at a busy mall in Omaha on wednesday, sending terrified workers and christmas shoppers scrambling for cover.

"Now i will be famous," the gun man wrote in a sucide note, its landlady told CNN after finding threepart document that she said included his will.

Police declined to discuss the contents of the note.

Five people were bounded, two of them critically, in the early afternoon rampage in the Mid western US city. Most of the victim at the upscale
Westroads Mall were shot inside the Von Maur Department store near the children's clothing areas.

"it was horrible, just horrible."one woman told local television station KE TV, saying she hid under a rack of clothes when the gunfire started.

The white House said it was a "terrible tragedy".

Omaha police chief Thomas Waren identified the gunman as Robert Hawkins, 19, from Bellevue, Nebraska, near Omaha.

Hawkins was living with friends after going through a series of hard times, according to many who said they were close to him.

Warren said the dead were five females and three males but he would not specify whether any were children.

Windows XP is going to be a lot Faster than Windows Vista

Microsoft Coroporation's Windows XP operating system is about to get faster and Windows Vista isn't, according to a report which caused a stir this week as industry watchers speculated that a zipper version of XP could keep customers from upgrading to Vista.

Microsoft, however, said it's too early to evaluate the two service packs it plans to release next year.

Early versions are already in the hands of testers like Devil Mountain Software Inc, which ran several versions of XP and Vista through a test stimulating common desktop computing tasks.

It found the original Vista performed 50% to 100% slower than the prevalent XP Service Pack 2 or SP2.

Vista SP1, due out in the early 2008, barely improved the operating the operating system's performance.

But XP SP3, scheduled for the first half of 2008, did improve on XP's earlier performance, running 10% faster than SP2.

That's a strike against Vista for IT professionals on the fence about switching, according to Craig Barth, the company's chief technology officer.

Kevin Kutz, director of Microsoft's Windows Client group, said the company is working on speeding up tasks such as transferring files between PC's, but its a work in progress.

Michael Cherry, an analyst for a research group in the US, said it's impossible to know Microsoft has started running Vista SP1 for speed. Even if XP gets faster, consumers and businesses may still switch to Vista.

"It might be an acceptable thing to me if it were slightly slower, but mor stable", Cherry said.

Muraltharan Breaks Shane Warne's Record

Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan becomes the highest wicket taker in the history of Test Cricket, leaving behind Australia's Shane Warne's Record of 708 Wickets.

He bowled out England's Paul Collingwood as his 709th wicket on the third day of the first cricket match at Asgiriya Stadium , Kandy, Sri Lanka on Monday 3rd Decembber, 2007.

Murali achieved the record in his 116th Test and on his home ground, which had been eagerly awaiting the historic moment over the first two days of the Test.

The 35-year-old off-spinner is now the highest wicket taker in the history of test cricket with 709 wickets with an average of 21.77 and economy rate of 2.41. He has also a unique racord of taking 5 wickets in an inning 60 times and 10 wickets in a match 20 times.Shane Warne took 145 test matches with an average of 25.41 and economy rate of 2.65 to reach the land mark.

It is the third time Murali has held the wicket-taking record, having originally passed Courtney Walsh in 2004 before briefly sharing the mark with Shane Warne. He then claimed it outright for the second time against South Africa until a shoulder injury allowed Warne to move back to the top against India and Muralitharan has been chasing him since. This time there is no one close to knocking him off and with a tireless appetite for the game 1000 wickets is a possibility.