Government makes an offer, Anna Hazare says No

New Delhi:  The massive and spontaneous outpouring of support for Anna Hazare's crusade against corruption forced the government to sit up and take notice.  (Read: Who is Anna Hazare?)

On the third day of Anna's hunger fast, the government reached out with an offer to set up an informal group, including activists and ministers. Shortly after the announcement, activists rejected the government's offer of an informal panel on the Lokpal Bill.

"I will not end the fast until government agrees to demands," said Anna Hazare.

Social activists Arvind Kejriwal and Swami Agnivesh met Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal this morning. "Talks going in positive, constructive direction. The government's attitude was very good, " said Swami Agnivesh after the meeting. The two sides are scheduled to meet again later today. ("We had constructive dialogue," says Sibal) 

With lakhs of Indians throwing their weight behind him, social activist Anna Hazare said today "I think nothing will happen to me for another 7 days, don't worry God is with me and I will be fine," the soldier of many such battles said.

Mr Hazare has said his "fast-unto-death" will continue till the government agrees to introduce a tough new law to fight corruption, and includes civil society representatives to help draft the Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombudsman Bill).  Sources in the government have said the Prime Minister is likely to release a statement soon on the impasse with Mr Hazare and other social activists.(Read: What is Jan Lokpal Bill?| Why Anna Hazare opposes it)

The PM met Kapil Sibal this morning to discuss the issue. "We had a constructive dialogue on Hazare's demands," Sibal said after the meeting. Sources have told NDTV that the government is ready to set up an informal group including activists and ministers. However, it is not in favour of issuing a formal notification to set up the committee.

Both Mr Hazare and the government have said they're open to dialogue. Mr Hazare told NDTV on Wednesday night, "We are prepared, when have we said no to dialogue? The ones who have the power to make decisions, either Sonia Gandhi or the PM, should be part of the dialogue. ..We have a request, that if the Lokpal Bill is to be made, then have 50% of our people, 50% of yours, have a joint committee, and begin the drafting process."    (Watch: Jaan, dil both belong to India says Hazare)

Various ministers from the government have said they respect Mr Hazare's mission, and that the government is committed to combating corruption among politicians and bureaucrats. However, they say that legislation is the business of Parliament alone, and allowing civil society to help draft this law would set a dangerous precedent.

Mr Hazare's call to action - he is asking Indians to join demonstrations in their cities or fast for as long as they can - has seen an emotional and enormous response.  Since the fall of last year, a series of corruption scandals have left the government reeling and the country incensed. 

The 72-year-old Gandhian who is fronting the Indian Against Corruption movement said today that he apologizes that politician Uma Bharti was heckled last evening when she tried to join him on stage at his base at Jantar Mantar in the Capital. He said while everyone is welcome to join the crowds, he will not let politicians try to manipulate the people's goodwill by posing as  leaders of what he describes as India's second freedom struggle.

Mr Hazare and the social activists who support him have also questioned the government's wisdom in its choice of the Group of Ministers set up to fight corruption. After public criticism from Mr Hazare and others, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar quit the panel yesterday.  "So what," said Mr Hazare, "if one Pawar goes...another will come."

Today, he echoed that sentiment, stressing, "Politicians have ruined the nation."

Angry Birds Rio downloaded 10 million times

The popular Angry Birds franchise has hit a new high after the blockbuster like success of the new Angry Birds Rio game. It has already been downloaded 10 million times in 10 days.

The game developers Rovio confirmed the figures via Twitter. The 10 million-download figures have been achieved through the game's immense popularity on both the iOS and Android platforms.

The game was an exclusive launch title for the Amazon apps store on Android were it was offered for free on March 14.

The ad-supported game is available for free on the Android marketplace, while the ad-free version is available for $0.99 on the Amazon App store for Android. It costs the same for the iPhone and the iPod touch on the Apple app store. The HD version for iPad is priced at $2.99.

Richard Branson: Call Him Nemo

We all know Richard Branson as the maverick founder of the Virgin group of companies. After his Star Trekish project Virgin Galactic, in which the prototype shuttle was named after the ship in honour of the iconic television show, Branson is turning his attention to the deeps.

The ocean is his next frontier and he aims to emulate the feats of Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh back in the 1960s. They touched down their bathyscaphe at the bottom of the deepest place on Earth, the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, 11 kilometres under the sea.

Branson and team will soon be attempting the same in five different attempts across the world in the next 24 months, trying to break the 36000 feet barrier. The first such dive will be in the Mariana Trench. Chris Welsh, the lone pilot of the ship, will dive to 11 kilometres under the sea and "fly" along the bottom for 10 kilometres.

This dive will be followed by a dive by Sir Richard Branson, who will take the 18-foot long Deep Flight Challenger to the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean at over 8 kilometres. The ambitious two-year plan will be called Virgin Oceanic.

The idea behind the Virgin Oceanic project is similar to the Virgin Galactic project where Branson hopes to make space travel available to the common man.

VSS Enterprise, the prototype vessel of the Virgin Galactic program, is scheduled to take its first flight this year and could go commercial by 2012. There is no news on the commercialisation of the Virgin Oceanic project.

Microsoft to power Toyota cars on Internet highway

Microsoft and Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC) on Wednesday announced they will work together to infuse the Japanese auto maker's cars with digital capabilities hosted in the Internet "cloud."

Microsoft and Toyota planned to jointly invest $12 million (one billion yen) in a Toyota subsidiary devoted to automotive digital information services.

Navigation, energy management, and other "smart" features in the next generation of Toyota vehicles were to be built on Microsoft cloud-computing platform Windows Azure.

"Today's announcement... is a great example of how we continue to invest in the automotive industry and of our commitment to power the services that are important to consumers," said Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.

"It further validates the power of the cloud, as the Windows Azure platform will provide the enterprise-grade, scalable platform that TMC needs to deliver telematics in its automobiles worldwide."

Toyota cars tapping into computer services hosted by Microsoft in the Internet "cloud" were to be electric and plug-in hybrid models to hit roads next year.

Toyota expected to have a "complete global cloud platform" in place by 2015.

Toyota is conducting tests in Japan of a Smart Center intended to connect people, homes, and cars in an energy management system using Internet technologies.

"Creating these more efficient, more environmentally advanced products will be our contribution to society," TMC president Akio Toyoda said in a release.

"To achieve this, it is important to develop a new link between vehicles, people and smart center energy-management systems."

Facebook launches page for journalists

Facebook has launched a media resource page to help journalists use the social network as a reporting tool and better connect with their audience.

The "Journalists on Facebook" page is intended to be "an on-going resource for the growing number of reporters using Facebook to find sources, interact with readers, and advance stories," Justin Osofsky, Facebook's director of media partnerships, said in a blog post.

"The page will provide journalists with best practices for integrating the latest Facebook products with their work and connecting with the Facebook audience of more than 500 million people," Osofsky said.

Facebook has been working with journalists since early 2010 to help make their content more social and Osofsky said the average media organization has seen referral traffic from Facebook soar over 300 per cent since then.

Facebook also said it was launching a "Facebook Journalism Meetup" program with workshops on how to use Facebook as a reporting tool.

It said the first one will be held on April 27 at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, California.

Within hours of going up, the Journalists on Facebook page had received nearly 2,300 "likes."

Among those friending the page were CBS television news anchor Katie Couric, ABC's evening news anchor Diane Sawyer and ABC Sunday talk show host Christiane Amanpour, formerly of CNN.

Twitter hits some technical turbulence

Twitter appeared to be grappling with technical troubles on Tuesday, disabling a new home page as well as a "Trends" feature at the popular microblogging service.

"We're disabling #NewTwitter," the startup's support team said in a message tweeted at 4 pm (2300 GMT). "Our engineers are working on re-enabling it."

Twitter earlier said it was working to resolve problems displaying timelines and "elevated error rates."

Three hours later, Twitter sent out word that it had disabled a Trends feature for all users.

The problems came a day after Twitter introduced homepage improvements that included letting people follow accounts based on interests.

Previously, searches were based on keywords and Twitter accounts were suggested on a list if they contained the search terms.

"When you search for a topic, you can now discover accounts that are relevant to that particular subject," Twitter spokeswoman Carolyn Penner said in a blog post.

"You can search for general topics, like funny or sports, or be more specific -- try Manchester United, NASCAR or Formula One."

Inventors show-off weird and wacky devices

They say there's a gadget for just about everything. That now includes boots which detect radiation and a kangaroo tail for weary humans who'd like a rest but can't be bothered to sit down.

These and a thousand other devices went on display Wednesday at the world's biggest inventions fair, where exhibitors from 45 countries showed-off their weird and wacky designs in Geneva in the hope of attracting investors or buyers.

Peyman Sarhadi of Iran showed off his "super smart boot," which he hopes will become the Swiss army knife of footwear.

Equipped with sensors, it collects data on air temperature, humidity, location and the wearer's blood pressure, and then sends the information to a base camp. It can heat or cool the feet and can also measure radiation levels, a feat that might be useful given Iran's reputed nuclear ambitions -- peaceful or otherwise.

Sarhadi claims the boot is already being tested by the Iranian army.

"It's useful," Sarhadi said in a remarkably understated sales pitch.

Emanuele Lopopolo of Italy presented a portable backrest that allows its wearer to take a break from standing by leaning back onto a telescopic pole.

"The kangaroo can rest its weight on its tail, so we've made the same thing for humans," he said, reclining at a 60-degree angle while passing spectators did their best not to trip over the pole.

Miracle tinctures and obscure industrial equipment aside, visitors may find the most useful inventions include a mouthwash-dispensing toothbrush, a braille photocopier, a foldable tandem bike and a vertical garden.

Jean-Marc Batard said the idea to build his pyramid-like garden came from his experience running a retirement home, where many elderly people complained about not being able to pursue their love of gardening because it was too hard for them to bend down.

The Frenchman came up with a modular wooden frame that can be modified to suit the gardener's horticultural preference -- and reach.

While many inventors enjoy support from their governments or universities, some have invested large sums of their own money in unlikely gadgets in the hope of someday hitting the jackpot.

"I've spent $71,500 on the prototype, now I need an investor to make it in bulk," said Roberto Capomazza, demonstrating what he claims is the fastest shrimp peeling device ever invented.

And why did he devote so much money toward developing a rather simple kitchen implement?

"I love shrimp, but I hate using my fingers to peel them," he replied.The fair opened Wednesday and runs until April 10.