Autodesk launches 2010 slate of post production software

Autodesk has announced the India launch of 2010 editions of Autodesk Flame, Inferno, Smoke and Flint software for editorial finishing and visual effects systems. It also launched Autodesk Flare software as the creative companion to Flame and Inferno.
"This year, we're especially excited about two developments," said Pankaj Kedia, Regional Manager, Systems - Gr. China, India & South East Asia, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. "First, we are launching Flare, which will be a great creativity and productivity booster for customers of our flagship visual effects software. Second, we have expanded our RED workflow capability to provide extremely fast and flexible import options. Both are already huge hits with our beta customers. In this economic climate, our software gives entertainment customers a real creative and competitive edge."
Autodesk's visual effects systems have been used to create numerous blockbuster films, including all three of this year's Academy Award-nominated movies for Best visual effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight and Iron Man.
The 2010 releases of Flame, Flare, Flint, Inferno and Smoke are now available. Autodesk Lustre 2009 Extension 1 and Autodesk Incinerator 2009 Extension 1 are also available to Autodesk Subscription customers.

Six persons test negative for swine flu in Delhi

New Delhi Six persons, who had arrived in New Delhi from abroad in the last few days and were suspected to be suffering from swine flu, have tested negative for the virus while one person is under observation. 

All the seven persons were tested for H1N1 virus after they showed flu-like symptoms. 

The samples were sent to National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) for testing. Six of the samples have tested negative, said Director NICD Shivlal. 

"The samples were put through a rapid test for ‘influenza A’ virus for which they tested negative. Further tests for H1N1 flu were not required as only ‘influenza A’ virus can lead to swine flu," he said. 

While six samples were sent from the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, one was that of a person from Hyderabad who had reported symptoms last week. 

Five persons were discharged from the hospital while a London-based NRI is still admitted to the RML as his test results have not come yet. 

Five persons were brought to RML in the past 24 hours while one person from Ghaziabad, who has recently returned from Texas, voluntarily came to the hospital after he saw media coverage of the flu. 

While the 35-year-old London-based NRI was brought to hospital directly from the Indira Gandhi International Airport this morning, the 25-year-old who came from Texas got himself admitted to the RML last evening. 

"Both of them are under observation in isolation ward. We have done all tests and samples have been sent to NICD," N K Chaturvedi, Medical Superintendent of RML, told reporters. 

The London-based NRI, who hails from Delhi, developed flu symptoms during his flight to the capital from London and was referred to the hospital after a screening at the airport. 

"He has a running nose, sore throat and cold but has no fever. He will be kept under observation for the next three days," Chaturvedi said. 

The Texas-based youth, who landed in Delhi on April 19 and had fever for two days on April 24, turned up at the hospital last evening, Chaturvedi said adding the man, who hails from adjoining Ghaziabad, later became asymptomatic. 

Vineet Chaudhary, Joint Secretary in Health Ministry, said there was no case of H1N1 flu in the country and all precautions have been taken. 

Chaturvedi said two others were brought to the hospital suspecting that they could be carriers of flu but it later turned out that they have liver problems. He said RML is fully equipped to handle cases of H1N1 flu.

I am young enough to win Lok Sabha polls: Bhajan Lal

Hisar (Haryana) (PTI) His opponents say he is a spent force, but 78-year-old former chief minister Bhajan Lal insists he is "young enough" to win parliamentary elections. 

"My health is absolutely good. I have not grown old. In fact, I am young enough to win elections and represent my people in the Lok Sabha," Mr. Lal told PTI in an interview. 


Mr. Lal, a Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) nominee, is battling against sitting Congress MP Jai Prakash and Indian National Lok Dal's Sampat Singh from Hisar for the polls on May 7. 

Mr. Lal's son Kuldeep Bishnoi is heading the party. 

Though his critics insist the two-time MP is old enough to serve the constituency now, Mr. Lal differs.

`Youth-centric reality shows don`t represent youth`

New Delhi, May 04: Using `F` words, pulling each other`s hair on trivial issues and manipulative moves that we see on youth-centric reality shows like `Splitsvilla`, `Sarkaar Ki Duniya` and `MTV Roadies` do not give the real picture of the country`s youth, say psychiatrists and a majority of youngsters too.

Whether it is the foul language used by female contestant Palak in `Roadies 6.0` or the many manipulations in the name of love by participants on `Splitsvilla 2`, the games today go meaner with no limits. 

But leading psychiatrist Sanjay Chugh says it`s not right to judge the country`s youth through a few shows on television. The real picture is different. 

"To generalise how youth of our country is by viewing a handful of shows for a few months and that too in a conditioned setting is rather unfair and unwarranted," Chugh told reporters. 

"There is a specified age range for people to enter such contests. If that age criterion is changed to only for those from 30-40 years, you`d perhaps see people from that spectrum too behaving in similar ways that are described as aggressive, conniving or devious," he added. 

Nauman Sait, the winner of `MTV Roadies 6.0`, too feels that being in a reality show tests your mental strength. 

"Such games are mentally challenging. You have to adapt to different situations where people who are your friends are also the ones against you and still you have to try to look happy. It becomes very difficult to know who is genuine because most people fake on such shows," Nauman told reporters. 

Samir Parikh, consultant psychiatrist at Max Healthcare in New Delhi, agreed that people`s behaviour had changed over time, but not to the extent as shown on such shows. 

"I agree perceptions, thinking and behaviour of the new generation has changed, but I don`t agree that reality shows mirror youth of today. Just because a few people are behaving in a particular manner doesn`t mean that the entire generation is the same," he maintained. 

The youth-centric shows, which have become a rage, are based on the basic premise of testing people in extreme challenging situations and seeing who can survive till the end. Experts say this is the main factor that compels people to behave in the way they do. 

"These shows demand and expect you to have great mental strength, tolerance and the right attitude to make your way up when everyone is trying to pull you down. Manipulations and aggression are just strategies and game plans that people work out in their minds in order to save themselves from being voted out," said Chugh. 

Said Parikh: "There is maximum arousal in such shows. You are cut away from the world, you are subjected to do the same thing. There is social deprivation, isolation, high competitiveness and then situations are such that one tends to behave in a manner different from normal circumstances." 

Youngsters too feel that their generation doesn`t endorse stepping on others to move ahead and using swear words without any reason. 

Ravisha Jain, a 19-year-old college student here, is a regular viewer of `Splitsvilla` on MTV and `Sarkaar Ki Duniya` on Real, but she maintains that what the shows depict are not the views of every youngster today. 

"I`m a young girl too, but I won`t use foul language so openly and indulge in manipulations to go ahead in life. It`s true that there are boys and girls who resort to such tactics, but it would be wrong to say this is the taste of young India," Ravisha said. 

"It is a pity that young, educated people are behaving like this on national television - youth today signifies strength and progress and the behaviour of girls and boys on such shows is not acceptable, whatever may be the reason," said Shantanu Sinha, who works with a BPO.

Breaking tradition to queue up for a cause

April 30: Bijendra Pradhan and his three brothers would have never stepped out of their Haridashatta house in Darjeeling if the election had not been fought on the Gorkhaland plank.
Having lost their mother on April 26, the brothers — according to the Nepali religious practice — have to keep themselves confined to the house for 13 days till the shradh is over. Yet, at 9.21am today, they turned up at St Teresa’s Higher Secondary School to cast their votes.
“It is time to show our unity and this vote is for a cause we believe in strongly,” said the 57-year-old Bijendra, a member of the 28-member family that had turned up to vote. The Pradhans’ decision to break tradition for the election reflects the sentiments of the hill people. Many, who would not have otherwise bothered to stand in the queue, made an exception this time.
In fact, Bijendra, who is in the tourism industry, said: “This is the first time I am casting my vote in the parliamentary election. I had exercised my franchise only at the municipality level as it directly affects us.” In previous elections, Bijendra had been in the USA. “For me, elections do not hold much interest as I was often in the US during those periods. But this time, despite our religious beliefs, I made it a point to come out of the self-imposed confinement and vote.”
Bijendra is not alone. A group of travel guides was seen heading towards Gangtok around 8am. Asked whether they had voted, they said they had come in a hired vehicle last night from Sikkim, covering a distance of 120km, only to cast their votes. “We have tourists waiting for us in Gangtok. This afternoon we have to take them for sight seeing. So, we are on our way back,” one of them said.
The half-an-hour rain in the morning could do little to dampen the spirit. Even the ballot figures spoke on the same lines. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the total votes polled in the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong were 69 per cent. According to figures available with the election media cell till late tonight, Kalimpong had polled 79.27 per cent votes, Kurseong 82.5 per cent and Darjeeling 77.32 per cent.
The plains, which always records a higher percentage, was trailing behind till 3pm. But there were long queues later and voting continued even after 8pm at some places. Figures available two hours later showed Siliguri had polled 77.9 per cent, Matigara-Naxalbari 79.65 per cent, Phansidewa 83 per cent and Chopra polled 82 per cent. Last time the total votes polled in the plains was 72 per cent. The figures may change tomorrow when reports come in from the far-flung booths.
The high polling percentage in the hills has not come as a surprise given the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s call to treat the election as a “referendum” on Gorkhaland. Many voters used their thumb impression instead of signing the voter’s register. “Signing takes a lot of time. So it is better to go for the thumb impression,” said a voter who did not want to be named.
The polling agents of the BJP, which has fielded Jaswant Singh in the Darjeeling seat, were mostly women. Morcha president Bimal Gurung had wanted women to play a proactive role as he felt their contribution to the statehood cause was significant. The Morcha is now the dominant party in the hills and is backing Singh whose rivals are sitting MP Dawa Narbula of the Congress and the Left Front’s Jibesh Sarkar.
Gurung, who voted at Subash Primary School at Bara Pattabong, seemed satisfied. “I am very happy that many people who were working outside the region also turned up to cast their votes. This is an important election for us,” he said. As for Singh, he was happy that the polling in the hills was brisk and of high percentage. “Do not ask me about the plains in particular as I am the candidate for the entire constituency. I do not believe in this divide. However, I have never been ambiguous about my stand on the demand of the hill people,” Singh said here. He will leave Darjeeling tomorrow to campaign in Rajasthan where the polls are due on May 7. He will return to Darjeeling on May 10.
Surendra Gupta, the district magistrate of Darjeeling, said no major problems were reported. “At Sukhiapokhri, a woman who looked mentally challenged threw away the EVM. However it was immediately replaced.” No votes were cast in two booths at Phansidewa and four in Naxalbari because of a boycott call by the Dooars-Terai faction of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad.
CPM leaders from the plains said they wanted repolling in three hill subdivisions. “There is specific information of rigging in the hills by the BJP and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. Our party could not depute agents in more than 80 per cent of the booths. The BSNL lines were blocked after 2pm to stop communication. The deployment of paramilitary forces was also not up to the mark. The chief electoral officer will be told about all this. We want repolling in all three hill subdivisions,” district Left Front convener and state urban development minister Asok Bhattacharjee said in Siliguri.
Congress leader, too, levelled similar allegations, but against the CPM. “In the booths in the plains, the CPM engaged government employees owing allegiance to the party. They tried to slow down the poll process so that after sundown they could indulge in illegal activities,” said Shankar Malakar, the Darjeeling district Congress president.

Peaceful note to latest India polls

India ended the third phase of parliamentary polls on a peaceful note, barring a lone attack by Maoist rebels.
The fate of several political heavyweights will be decided by the ballots as states including Maharashtra, Sikkim, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal experienced moderate voter turnout.
But Mumbai, the target of last year's deadly terror attacks, had a low turnout of about 13% at one point as many voters failed to turn up at election booths.
Maoist rebels triggered a landmine near a polling booth in Purulia district, in West Bengal, leaving two security personnel injured.
Another security official was shot dead while trying to pull down a Maoist poster from a wall in the same district.
Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi, opposition leader L K Advani, and BJP president Rajnath Singh were among those whose constituencies went to the polls on Thursday.
The first two phases on April 16 and 20 were marred by the Maoist violence. At least 20 people have been killed across the country.
A total of 1,567 candidates are fighting for 107 parliamentary seats during the latest voting.
Elections are being held in five phases for the 543 seats over a month.
Votes will be counted on May 16.