SAMSUNG DNIE

Due to popular demand, after the Sony full HD review we've managed to get our hands on none other than a Samsung Mosel full-HD LCD TV. Sony and Samsung have become household names at the Tech2 stable, so I don’t think an introduction is needed. However I'll just mention that the Mosel series from Samsung include some high-end models that have received critical acclaim.

We called up Samung India, saying we want to add our (Tech) 2 bits, and they readily obliged with a brand new piece from their M-series Mosel. The F-series models are a little more expensive and may be a better choice, but this 46-incher will have to do for now.

Features and Design
The TV is pure elegance in terms of appearance. I can’t say much their lower-end models, but this has a smooth black finish that exudes confidence, and says ‘check me out’. It’s a piano-gloss finish, black all over, and the gloss is not overkill. It's actually pretty rich and smooth.

The swivel stand is oval, and bears the same finish as the bezel, which adds to the uniform good looks of the unit. There were some tacky stickers that I summarily tore off – I wonder if they will notice?

The typical Samsung 'on' button is present at the center of the bottom panel. The speaker too is a bit hidden and angled downwards, below the front panel. There's an HDMI at the side along with the retro suite, and an easily accessible squarish rack at the back. No aerobics required.

Before I forget, the HDMI inputs are HDMI 1.3, so you have many more colors, and 1440p compatibility (whenever that comes here!)

All expensive TVs these days have lots of features; some proprietary, others standard. For instance, the Samsung M8 conforms to the xvYCC (via HDMI 1.3) or extended gamut color space, just like the Sony, which means the color pallete is quite huge. These days the TVs I get for review never seem to have bad color, so I guess LCD technology is getting better.

Samsungs’s DNIe stuff is there, plus ‘Movie PLUS Mode’ for film cadence frames smoothening, and a few more minor tricks. The basic specs are in no way ordinary, as the contrast ratio is a whopping 15000:1, no prizes for guessing the quantum. The response time is faster than 8 ms, and the resolution is 1920 x 1080p.

BOSE HEADPHONES

It was only a few days ago that we reviewed the Genius Noise Cancellation headphones, and waxed eloquent on opportunities for cheap makes in the market. What we have here now is the baap of them all, perched on the opposite end of the spectrum. Bose's Quiet Comfort series is the epitome of luxury with (alas) not much value for money. The new Quiet Comfort 3, however, shows some promise – but comes with a steep bill as expected.

In the QC 3 you will instantly see Bose's desire to make a more compact headgear while improving on their erstwhile inadequate attempt at noise canceling. These headphones are small, and are bundled with two proprietary rechargeable batteries which fit into the top of the right headphone can. And they do enable a whole new experience in noise reduction.

This time around, the QC 3 headphones come with an 'on-the-ear' design, and although we're not big fans of this form factor, we must admit that this one is surprisingly comfortable, mainly due to the soft foam pad covered by some material that reminds one of leather. The urge to take them off after 45 minutes is missing in the QC 3. Your ears don't feel as if they have just returned from battle, though they are a little hot due to the material of the exterior pad.

We'd have preferred disposable AAA batteries; but the QC 3 comes with proprietary batteries, which means you have to carry the charging kit wherever you go. If your batteries go dead while you are on a long journey, you've had it!

We didn't like the fact that the pair deploys only active noise cancellation. This means that you need to keep noise cancellation switched on at all times if you have to listen to music. So keep them charged before you set out.

To supplement a good musical experience, the 'big box' (literally) comes with an assortment of different charging plugs, a carry bag that can accommodate the extra battery, among other things. A gold-plated 3.5mm to 5.5mm converter is also bundled.

N81 -COOL

In this age of high-end mobile phones (or should I say handheld computers and communication-cum-entertainment devices?) Nokia is a household name. Its latest addition to the stable is the N81, whose USP is a whopping 8GB of internal memory. Here’s my take on the 'Next Episode' in mobile technology.

Form Factor
I’ve decided to call this model 'Li'l Fatty' – its dimensions of 102 x 50 x 17.9 mm will explain why. At first sight (or second), this plain rectangular slider doesn't look impressive at all. On the top is a slider switch to lock the keypad, a 3.5mm earphone socket (good placement) and the power/profile switcher button. It has a set of stereo speakers on either side, and on the right are the volume/zoom keys and a dedicated camera key as well. At the bottom you’ll find the charging port and the new standardized microUSB port.

I do like the brilliant 2.4 inch display and the fact that in landscape mode, if you’re playing games, two buttons on either side of the earpiece become active. NICE! Since it’s 3G enabled there’s also a secondary VGA camera in front in addition to the 2 megapixel (WHAT?) camera with an LED flash in the rear.

The five way nav-pad under the display also doubles as a navigation touch-sensitive navi-wheel, which is a disappointment if you’re an iPod fan… or not. It only works with when the new shortcut menu (activated by a little gray button near the nav-pad) is on or when you’re scrolling through your music. Not the gallery, just the music files. There are four keys around the nav-pad that are dedicated to the music player. The top two are the track skip keys and the the bottom pair are the stop and play/pause keys.

The problem is the placement of these keys is absolutely ridiculous. You’ll more often than not end up activating the music player rather than deleting a word while typing and it won't activate the music player menu, just the last song that was playing. Trust me, you too will be startled when a song blares out really loud when you least expect it. The buttons are overly sensitive.

On the plus side, the slider is extremely smooth and responsive, and the large keypad is great. But I must admit I was quite disappointed by the overall design.

varanam ayiram stills

DEAD MAN RETURNS

No one yet knows why John Darwin disappeared from Hartlepool five years ago - but he is guaranteed to find lots of things have changed upon his return.

Chief among them: his wife has sold up and shipped their furniture and lots of money to Panama.

When they lived together on the seafront at Seaton Carew, John and Anne Darwin were described by friends as a loving couple.

He was a committed Catholic and had been a teacher for most of his working life, she was a doctor's receptionist and regular churchgoer.

When he vanished, there was a huge search and rescue operation involving lifeboats, coastguards and the RAF

His smashed-up canoe, lifejacket and paddle were found, but there was no sign of him.

On Saturday, five years after vanishing, he walked into West Central Police station in London in good health and, according to one source, "looking suntanned".

Since then, he has been staying with family - believed to be his son Mark - with a Metropolitan Police family liason officer looking after him.

TAX PAYER BECOME CITIZEN NO 1

Filing your tax return wasn’t as easy as it is now. However, FD Engineer, a man who is 100 years old, has been filing his income tax returns since 1949.

Born in a small town in Secunderabad, he tirelessly coordinates with his chartered accountant friend over the phone to make sure the tax returns are filed in time every year.

“When I was 17-18 years old, I felt that I was a very bad boy,” says FD Engineer. It is not without reason that he is the citizen number one. This bad boy is now the nation's pride. At the grand old age of 100 years, Framroz Darabsha Engineer is the country's oldest taxpayer and a real inspiration to an entire population of working professionals.

According to the IT records, this year too, he filed tax returns of 7,500 rupees. But the zesty centenarian dismisses all the sudden attention with a shrug.

Engineer says that he pays all his taxes religiously as he fears God and can do nothing to cheat anyone.

The Finance Minister PC Chidambaram sent Engineer a congratulatory note earlier this month. Calling it a unique achievement, the minister applauded Engineer for being a model citizen.

“He is disciplined in every field of life. Very many years ago, money wasn’t as important as it is today. So it wasn’t a big deal for him to pay his taxes,” says Zurie Mody Engineer's Daughter.

Adding on, she says that her father believes in doing his duties.” He says that if we shrug our duties, the government will be unable to function successfully and will fail to help us,” says Zurie Mody, Engineer's Daughter.

Engineer’s health might fail him, but his convictions remain strong.

LALU BECOMES PROF

Apart from meeting students from top business schools like Harvard and Wharton, Lalu Yadav is now getting ready to act Professor. Perhaps this goes to show that at least one of the parliamentarians is busy.

A group of four deans from the INSEAD Business School, Singapore are interested in the now famous turnaround handshake of the minister and the King of Turnaround himself is more than delighted to obliged.

“They expressed a desire to meet me and my officials. I welcome them,” said the affable Indian Railway Minister Lalu Yadav.

These kind words brought Lalu more than just the usual praise from the visiting business gurus. This time he was offered a chance to lecture at the business school itself.

Dean of INSEAD Business School Frank Brown said, “We would love to have the minister come to our campus and talk to our MBAs.”

The minister could not be more pleased for the offer will see him lecturing in Singapore within the next six months. Indian Railways and its turnaround will also be a case study in the business school's curriculum.

“One of the things that we want to do at INSEAD is turn it [Indian Railways’ success] into an INSEAD case study because it is such a terrific story. It’s a case study for us because it is a unique turnaround seen anywhere in the world,'' said Brown.

This is not the first time that business schools have come seeking advice from the Indian Railway Minister, specially focussing on the turnaround of the Indian Railways

YUVI TO PLAY IN RANJHI TROPHY

Yuvraj Singh, named India's 12th man for the second Test against Pakistan that began Friday, has been released by the cricket board to play for Punjab against Bengal in the Ranji Trophy match starting Saturday.

The in-form Yuvraj will proceed to Siliguri for the match. But ex-players felt that if he was not to be played at the Eden Gardens, he could have been asked to proceed Thursday itself. India's playing XI that played here is believed to have been decided the night before.

The 25-year-old left-hander, adjudged the Man of the ODI Series against Australia, was also not played in the first Test in Delhi. He has so far played 19 Tests and 195 ODIs.

Many experts and former Test players, including Arun Lal, believe that Yuvraj should have been included in the XI.

"He is the man in form and he deserved to play Test matches too. If you don't play him now, when will you? He has just won a Man of the Series award and he must full of confidence at this moment," Lal said.