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Virat Victory in Vizag

The feet that moved fluently suddenly refused to do his bidding. Yet Virat Kohli tapped into hidden reserves of strength to brave past pain and pressure and helped India continue its winning streak against Australia.

Kohli's scintillating 118 (121b, 11x4, 1x6) coupled with Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina's adept supporting roles, set up India's five-wicket victory over Australia in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium here on Wednesday. After rains washed out the first game at Kochi, India now has an unassailable 1-0 lead in the series that will conclude at Margao on Sunday.

Good recovery

Chasing Australia's 289 for three in 50 overs, India needed a steady start but debutant Shikhar Dhawan froze against Clint McKay, who later scalped Murali Vijay. At 35 for two, Kohli and Yuvraj lent hope to the Indian dressing room where captain M.S. Dhoni paced nervously. The duo shared 137 runs for the third wicket off 152 balls and that laid the foundation for a productive pursuit.

Man-of-the-Match Kohli's early impetus was gleaned from a pull off debutant seamer Mitchell Starc and Yuvraj (58) strode into his element while flicking another debutant John Hastings over mid-wicket. The southpaw's confidence rubbed onto Kohli, who soon pulled and drove with élan and the two fashioned a partnership that was the right mix of industriousness and flair.

Yuvraj leant into his drive off debutant Starc and when Nathan Hauritz stepped in, the southpaw slog-swept the off-spinner. Kohli, meanwhile, moved back and forth at the crease, judging length to a nicety as his shots sped on the carpet. Kohli, who in the past had the propensity to fritter away starts, played his percentages well and watched Yuvraj lose his timber to McKay's slower delivery.

The 21-year old surged ahead despite cramps in his legs that forced him, at 81, to requisition a runner in Dhawan. The moment Kohli noticed that Raina (71 n.o.) was busy carving up James Hopes all over the park, the centurion opted to play second fiddle.

He came into his own again after notching up his third ODI hundred with a brace off Hastings and while the adrenaline throbbed, he clattered McKay past cover, down fine-leg and over mid-wicket. Kohli eventually perished with a tired shot but he had done his job and Raina lent the final touch with verve. India finished with 292 for five in 48.5 overs.

Leading from the front

Earlier, Australian skipper Michael Clarke put a fortnight of poor form firmly behind him after his unbeaten 111 (139b, 7x4, 1x6) helped his team post a challenging total. Clarke found allies in Michael Hussey (69) and Cameron White (89 n.o., 49b, 6x4, 6x6) and the trio helped Australia tide past the twin-blow of losing openers Shaun Marsh and Tim Paine after Dhoni opted to field.

Australia failed to breathe easy in the beginning as Ashish Nehra's first spell of 4-1-3-2 prised out Marsh and Paine. Clarke and Hussey then etched a third-wicket partnership that yielded 144 runs off 172 balls. Clarke remained alert to the single while Hussey punctured the inner ring before succumbing to economical off-spinner R. Ashwin.

White then walked in and spread mayhem through an unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership of 129 runs off 81 deliveries with his skipper. White carted Nehra for four and inflicted agony on the seamers, especially Vinay Kumar.

Clarke too acquired an aggressive sheen and raced to his fifth ODI hundred, striking clean fours off Vinay. The skipper then watched White dent Praveen Kumar with two sixes and wade into the innings' final over bowled by Vinay with three sixes and a four. The damage proved minimal for the Indians on a night when Kohli prospered.

Keywords: India-Australia ODI series

High-speed 4G network by Nokia

Telecommunications equipment major Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) demonstrated for the first time its Time Division Duplex version of LTE (TD-LTE) technology in India on Tuesday in Bangalore. The technology, running on broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum, for which licences were issued recently, will herald the fourth generation (4G) of technology in the wireless communications space, said top officials of the company.

The inaugural video call at the demonstration, which was conducted at NSN's R&D facility here, was initiated by Gurdeep Singh, Chief Operating Officer, Aircel. The demonstration was conducted on the 2.3 GHz spectrum band, which has been reserved for BWA services.

Urs Pennanen, Head, India Region, NSN, said the network's capability of handling throughputs of up to 110 mbps augured well for the rapid deployment of high-speed wireless broadband in the country. “The key to rapid deployment is in operators providing much higher speed data transmission without increasing prices too much,” Mr. Pennanen said.

“The capability of the 4G networks go beyond those of 3G, ensure better user experience and better spectral efficiency, all of which are important because users need to handle more data,” Mr. Pennanen said. He said the TD-LTE technology had been deployed by 17 operators across the world and several more are in the process of going on that platform. He said NSN's acquisition of Motorola's Wimax assets would result in NSN being in a position to “offer even more solutions to operators.”

Juha Lappalainen, Head, Mobile Broadband Sales, NSN, said while 2G was mainly geared to handle voice traffic, 3G technology smartphone users could handle data and voice using several applications. “The 4G technology”, he said, “is meant to ensure high-speed transmission of large amounts of data.” He said the 2.3 GHz band is “likely to be deployed globally,” he added. “Both CDMA and GSM-based systems are likely to converge towards TD-LTE,” Mr. Lappalainen said.

Keywords: Nokia Siemens Networks, broadband wireless access

A different kind of worm

Stuxnet virus makes industrial processes go haywire, and it is feared that some government or organisation may have created it

A computer virus of a different kind has been making waves in recent months. Stuxnet is different in that it does not launch a malicious attack that targets standalone computer systems used by individuals. Nor does it target enterprise-wide systems. Instead, it exploits multiple vulnerabilities in Windows-based computers that provide an interface to industrial control systems (ICS) that run industrial processes.

This results in industrial processes going haywire, which can be potentially devastating. Significantly, the worm targeted only a particular kind of programmable logic controllers (PLC) developed by Siemens.

These small embedded industrial control systems run various automated processes in a range of industries – from large scale power plants and refineries to small and medium-sized auto component manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies.

The interface to these PLCs is usually through computers — often Windows-based systems. And, Stuxnet is essentially looking for a particular target — the Siemens SIMATIC WinCC/Step 7 controller software.

Stuxnet was discovered in June 2010 by a security firm based in Belarus. The attacks soon acquired a mystique usually associated with international spy thrillers. Its sophisticated design — and unusual method of targeting — led to speculation that a government (or governments acting in unison) had designed and propagated it. Specifically, the fact that one of the first targets was the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran strengthened apprehensions based on this line of reasoning.

Main targets

Symantec's latest security report on the worm, released earlier this month, observed: “Approximately 60 per cent of infected hosts are in Iran.” According to the report Indonesia ranks second, accounting for about 15 per cent of the infections. Significantly, India accounts for about 10 per cent of the 40,000 “unique external IP addresses, from over 155 countries,” that Symantec observed.

Speaking to The Hindu, Sanjay Katkar, Chief Technology Officer at Pune-based Quick Heal Technologies, said the worm has “exploited at least four zero-day vulnerabilities in the system.”

A zero-day attack is a computer threat that arises before the developer (or others) could even identify a potential threat or a security hole in the software.

Sophisticated worm

The sophisticated worm typically uses the ubiquitous USB drive to gain entry into the victim's system, says Mr. Katkar. Unlike most other viruses, which require the hapless user to invoke the virus by executing an action (such as opening an attachment or visiting a website),

Stuxnet requires no such initiation to gain entry and start working. The worm also installs drivers, using legitimate digital certificates obtained from two Taiwanese companies, Realtek Semiconductor Corporation and Jmicron Technology Corporation.

Speculation on the Net focused on the Stuxnet virus as being responsible for the failure of India's INSAT-4B satellite in July, which affected the operations of several Direct to Home (DTH) TV broadcasts.

Mr. Katkar said the Stuxnet threat has been particularly difficult to address because most security labs in India do not have access to the environment in which the virus grows. Although the threat has abated significantly in the last few weeks, particularly after Microsoft plugged the holes by releasing a security patch, there have been some indications that the virus may have mutated. Although Siemens, a leading PLC supplier, has upgraded its software, two new variants of the virus emerged in July and September, Mr. Katkar said.

Strong backing

“The complexity of the virus”, Mr. Katkar said, “makes me believe that the virus originated with strong organisational backing.” “It would have required well-motivated research and development and a team, which is not normally seen in hackers of security systems,” he remarked. “It has certainly not been unleashed by an individual,” he asserted.

Quick Heal, which has offered solutions to the problem in India, reported about 16,000 infections per day in September.

Mr. Katkar said the number has been “declining by the day since then.” The company has provided solutions to address the virus threat in small and medium units that manufacture telecommunications equipment, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and auto components and several other industries.

“The Stuxnet threat may have abated, but it is still spreading, although at a slower rate,” Mr. Katkar remarked.

Keywords: Stuxnet virus, computer systems,

Apple boss Steve Jobs declares victory over BlackBerry

With Apple posting record profits amid zooming sales of iPhones and iPads, CEO Steve Jobs declared victory over main rival and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM).


"We have now passed RIM, and I don't see them catching up with us in the foreseeable feature," Jobs told the Canadian media in a conference call after Apple's astounding results Monday.


"We are out to win this one," Job said.


The BlackBerry smart phone has been the leader in the North American market for many years now. But iPhones and Google Android devices have almost toppled the BlackBerry from the perch.


Apple posted a huge 70 percent jump in profits in fourth quarter results, reporting net revenue of $4.31 billion as against $2.53 billion during the same period last year.


Record sales of iPads and Mac computers zoomed Apple's total earnings to $20.34-billion, up from $12.2 billion a year ago.


With its sales of 14.1 million iPhones in the quarter, Jobs said Apple has "handily" beaten RIM, which sold 12.1 million BlackBerry smart phones during the period.


Blaming RIM for putting off developers by employing multiple operating systems, Jobs told the Globe and Mail: "They (RIM) must move beyond their area of strength and comfort into the unfamiliar territory of trying to become a software platform company. I think it is going to be a challenge for them."


The Apple boss also took the opportunity to have a swipe at BlackBerry maker's much-smaller PlayBook tablet to be unveiled later this year.


Dismissing PlayBook's seven-inch screens as too small, he told the paper that consumers will need to use "sand paper" to grind their fingers down to the appropriate size.


"The 10-inch screen size is the minimum required to have great tablet apps. We don't think you can make a great tablet with a seven-inch screen. We think it's too small to express the software that people want to put on these things," Jobs said.


He also didn't spare the other major rival Google, calling its Android operating system "fragmented”.
Keywords:Apple,Steve Jobs

Behind Screen Khaleja

F ive years ago, Yugandhar Tammareddy was a creative artist than an entrepreneur. Now, he is strengthening the business arm of his venture, Pixelloid, besides keeping an eye on creative frontiers. Thirty one-year-old Yugandhar is among the seven Indian entrepreneurs to win the Young Creative Entrepreneur (YCE) award by the British Council. “My wife came across an announcement for the contest and registered my name and sent the details,” says an ecstatic Yugandhar, as his staff is absorbed in visual effects for Mahesh Babu's Khaleja and Ram Charan Teja's Orange. Yugandhar won the YCE award in the Screen category for floating Pixelloid, which recently completed five years.

( Yugandhar Tammareddy)

After working on visual effects and animation for 40 Telugu films and a few Hollywood projects, Yugandhar wants to diversify. He and his team are developing content for television and feature films. “In the next five years, we hope to make a Hollywood film,” he says with a smile. He grew up on a diet of international cinema and wants to explore new genres. Lofty dreams? May not seem so when you hear his own story of turning entrepreneur by chance.

“My friends and I were artists working for different companies. I started as a trainee animator and editor at Padmalaya Studios after studying BFA at SV College. I then moved to Rhythm and Hues in Mumbai and in less than six months realised I wasn't getting enough creative work. I returned to Padmalaya and worked on a few projects before starting Pixelloid,” he says.

As a freelancer, he worked on Nijam. Pixelloid was then born with an initial capital of Rs. 25 lakh, partly pooled in by him and his friends partly sourced through loans. With time, his team proved that Telugu film-makers needn't make a beeline to studios in Chennai to get cutting edge visual effects. The feather in the cap was the Nandi Award for the company's work in Sainikudu. “A Chennai firm did a lot of work for the film and we got to do a small portion. Yet, the quality of the work stood out,” he says.

Visual effects in Telugu films have evolved from jarring to aesthetic and even help producers cut cost. “For Nenu Meeku Telusa, the two-seater Mercedes car crash was done with special effects. A real Merc crash would cost nearly a crore,” points out Yugandhar. For the same film, his team changed five background sets for a song, saving the production team the cost of setting up elaborate sets. “For Brindavanam, we are changing the background of many portions to make it appear that the film was shot in a hill station. The shooting was done in Hyderabad,” he shares.