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Finally, a Decent Android Bazaar; Amazon Debuts Android Appstore

Android, Digital Media 3 Responses »

Mar 222011

Internet retailer Amazon.com launched its Appstore for Android devices today in a move that could whittle away some of the advantages Apple has enjoyed with its hugely successful AppStore and overcome the disadvantages of Google’s Android Marketplace.

Amazon’s new store can be accessed at www.amazon.com/appstore and comes with a novel feature called “Test Drive” that lets users test apps on a simulated Android phone before buying them.

Currently, there are about 3,800 apps on the Amazon Appstore, a number that’s likely to grow as Android developers flock to the store.

While developers can suggest the retail price for their apps, Amazon will have the last word on the price. The split between developers and Amazon is said to be 70-30, with the higher number in favor of the app publisher.

The Amazon Appstore will include personalized recommendations, customer reviews, 1-Click payment options and video content that shows apps in action.

The much anticipated Angry Birds Rio for Android debuted on the Amazon Appstore today.

Screened, Tested Apps
Amazon said it would screen all app submissions from developers for known viruses and malware and test them to check that it actually does what it claims to do, and test whether the app affects the stability of the other functions of the Android phone.

Amazon’s tests are supposed to include:

Installation: To ensure that the application installs and opens, upgrades can be installed and the application can be uninstalled by following the phone’s regular uninstall method.
Functionality: To ensure that the application doesn’t crash and the description of the application matches the application’s description.
Usability: To ensure that graphics, videos, animation, and text within the app are clear and readable to the user
Technical: To ensure that the application doesn’t interfere with, or stop working when, a user receives calls or text messages while the application is running.

A big disadvantage of the Google Android Marketplace is that the apps are not tested before they are offered to users.

A few weeks back, 58 malware apps were discovered on the Android Marketplace. They had been downloaded by as many as 200,000 users to their Android phones before the rogue apps were killed. Continue reading »

Blue Moon Beers Review – Nothing Remarkable

Liquor 2 Responses »

Mar 222011

Since some folks on this fine blog have been dropping the Blue Moon name, our curiosity was piqued enough to take a dekko at the beer and check out what the fuss was all about.

To our surprise, we found more than one variety of Blue Moon in the cooler of our local liquor store.

There’s the Blue Moon Belgian White, Pale Moon and Blue Moon Spring Blonde Wheat Ale (from the Seasonal Collection).

We found a variety pack ($14.99) containing four bottles of each and grabbed it.

Blue Moon Belgian White
Touted as a Belgian-style wheat ale, this one is not that foamy a beer as you pour it into the glass.

Like Namaste, the Blue Moon Belgian White too is brewed with coriander and orange peel. But the coriander and orange peel flavor seemed milder with the Blue Moon. Continue reading »

Uno Chicago Grill Review – Good Pizza, Awesome Bananas Foster Dessert, Crappy Fries

Food, Reviews 2 Responses »

Mar 222011

All pizzas are not made equal.

Some are sadistically worse than the others.

Longing for a break from our usual Idli, Vada, Dosa, Pongal, Bisi-Bele Bath Indian fare, we headed to Uno Chicago Grill the other day to try, what else, one of their hallmark deep-dish pizzas

According to the folks at Wiki, deep dish pizzas do:

not include thin crusts or delicate toppings, but rather it is made with a heavy, thick crust and large amounts of cheese, sauce and ingredients.

The pizza begins with a thick layer of dough made with olive oil and cornmeal laid into a deep round pan and pulled up by the sides, then parbaked before the toppings are added to give it greater spring; the pan is oiled heavily in order to create a fried effect on the outside of the crust. The crust is covered with cheese (generally sliced mozzarella) and meats, usually in a solid layer or patty, just above the crust. Italian sausage (a Chicago staple), as well as vegetables such as onions, mushrooms and bell peppers are also used. A sauce, usually uncooked, made from shredded or puréed tomatoes is added.

When we eat pizza, we almost always go for the thin-crust in an effort to reduce cheese consumption. Plus, most of the chains like Domino’s, Pizza Hut or Papa John use really crappy cheese. So, our logic is the less cheese the better.

But at Uno we were in an adventurous, game-for-anything’ mood and so we picked the Farmer’s Market Pie deep dish veggie pizza.

The Farmer’s Market Pie comes with caramelized onions, spinach, sun-dried and plum tomatoes, eggplant, pesto, feta, mozzarella and grated Romano.

We also ordered some house salads and fries but for some inexplicable reason skipped the booze although Uno offers several varieties of beer, wine and all the standard cocktails.

As we were wolfing down the salad in our perennially famished state, our Farmer’s Market Pie deep dish veggie pizza arrived on a pan with the cautionary advice from our elderly waitress Helen to watch out for the hot pan.

Quickly putting aside the salad, we fell upon the Farmer’s Market Pie veggie pizza with gusto.

The first bite, and our feeling was like, hmmmm, this pizza is good.

Real good.

About three times the thickness of a thin-crust, the Uno deep-dish crust tastes slightly buttery and packs a wonderful flavor that has you hankering for another bite and another…..

The cheese is of superior quality (than what yours truly is used to at other chain stores). A thick whitish layer of Mozzarella is nicely married to the top of the crust. On top of the cheese, you have caramelized onion and eggplant cooked to a blackish brown hue, spinach and small juicy tomatoes pieces.Yummy!

The onions, eggplant, tomato and spinach were well-cooked and bonded firmly to the cheese/crust layer. No chance of them getting dislodged.

One could easily get addicted to the Uno deep-dish veggie pizza.

After gorging on the salad, fries and dessert, we couldn’t finish the pizza and the thoughtful waitress offered us a box without our having to ask for it.

Boy, several hours after we returned home, the pizza still tasted good (unheated). Now, that is something you can never, ever say about pizza from Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Papa John and many other small pizza places.

Disgustingly Bad Fries
When we go to a non-Indian place to eat, we start craving French Fries.

It’s kind of a Pavlovian response.

So, not surprisingly we ordered French Fries at Uno too.

Bad move. Continue reading »

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Picture of the Day – Uno Chicago Grill Veggie Pizza

Food, iPhone, Photography, Pictures 3 Responses »

Mar 212011

Uno Chicago Grill - Farmer's Market Pie Deep Dish Pizza Farmer’s Market Pie Vegetarian deep dish pizza with caramelized
onions, spinach, sun-dried & plum tomatoes, eggplant, pesto,
feta, mozzarella & grated Romano (Photo via iPhone)

India vs West Indies; Which Way? India, Of Course

Cricket 13 Responses »

Mar 202011

OK, here we come!

Watching the India vs West Indies ICC World Cup Cricket match happening in Chennai from our cozy corner in the U.S.

Having won the toss, India is batting.

Which way will the match go?

Given the strange turns some matches have taken in this World Cup, prediction is a dangerous game.

*******

Final Score

India – 268-10 (49.1 overs)
West Indies – 188-10 (43 overs)

India Meets Australia in Quarter-Finals at Ahmedabad.

Yuvraj Singh is Man of Match. He scored 113 Runs & snagged 2 wickets.

West Indies Batting

12:15PM ET – India WINS by 80 Runs. Ravi Rampaul b Ashwin

12:10PM ET – Feeling Good! India moments from victory. Ravi Rampaul last WI batsman in.

12:18PM ET – Fantastic. Sarwan (39) c Ashwin b Zaheer Khan WI 182-9

12:05PM – Devendra Bishoo is new WI batsman in. Ashwin brought back to bowl by Dhoni

12:02PM ET – SUPER – Suleiman Benn out c Munaf Patel B ZaheerKhan. Asking Run Rate 9. WI 179-8. No way WI can make it.

* BAD LUCK – South Indian actress TRISHA is in the Stadium. At least, it looked like her.

11:51AM ET – WI 168-7 after 38 Overs.

11:47AM ET – WI Heading for Defeat.

11:46AM ET – Yuvraj Strikes Again. Andre Russell c Pathan b Yuvraj. WI 165-7. Suliemann Benn is new batsman in.

11:42AM – The tide has turned. India Will Likely Win.

11:41AM ET – Wow Ooh Ooh Darren Sammy (2) Run Out. West Indies 162-6. Andre Russell is new WI batsman in.

11:35AM – India now has a good chance to Win this match.

11:32AM ET – FANTASTIC. Devon Thomas stumped b Yuvraj Singh 160-5 after 34.2 overs

11:20AM ET – YAHOOO Kieron Pollard Out going for a big hit c Yusuf Pathan b Harbajan Singh WI 157-4 Devon Thomas new batsman in.

11:12AM ET – Great News. Devon Smith (81) out b Zaheer Khan WI 154-3 Kieron Pollard new batsman in.

11:10AM ET – Devon Smith MUST go. WI 154-2 after 30 overs.

10:54AM ET – Does not look good for India at this stage.

10:53AM ET – WI Marching Ahead briskly. 139-2 after 26 overs. Run Rate 5.35

10:36AM ET – West Indies sitting pretty. Their batsmen Devon Smith & Ramnaresh Sarwan keep the runs coming. WI 115- 2 after 21 overs

10:17AM ET - WONDERFUL Darren Bravo OUT. c Harbajan b Suresh Raina. WI 91-2. Ramnaresh Sarwan new batsman in

10:00AM ET – WI Run Rate Required 5.38 per over. Very doable!

9:53AM ET – WI 46-1 after 10 overs. What India needs is a couple of quick wickets and then WI will be under pressure.

9:40AM ET – SUPER Kirk Edwards lbw Ashwin (17) West Indies 34-1 in 6.2 overs. Darren Bravo new batsman in

9:37AM ET – West Indies 33-0 after 6 overs

9:30AM ET – BAD UMPIRING BY SIMON TEUFEL! Kirk Edwards was RUN OUT. Simon deserves a BIG KICK on his backside.

9:27AM ET – West Indies 14 – 0 after 3 overs.

9:15AM ET – Devon Smith & Kirk Edwards are opening batsmen for West Indies.

India Batting

8:46AM – We are MAD AS HELL! How the f*ck can India lose the last 7 wickets for just 50 Runs. We’re beginning to think India’s batting prowess is much overrated. Or is there more than meets the eye? Great bowling by Ravi Rampaul with 5-51.

8:42AM – HOPELESS. Munaf Patel out b Andre Russell India 268-10.

8:41AM ET – Munaf Patel new batsman in.

8:40AM ET – DISGUSTING! Zaheer Khan b Ravi Rampaul India 267-9

8:37AM ET – What’s wrong with our batsmen? They suddenly collapse like flies. 5 Wickets gone for just 41 Runs

8:35AM ET – Pathetic. Harbajan Singh (3) out c Pollard b Andre Russell India 259-8 Zaheer Khan is new batsman in.

8:30AM ET – Disgusting. Indian batting collapses again

8:29AM ET – SICK. Yusuf Pathan (11) b Ravi Rampaul. India 251-7 Nice bowling by Ravi Rampaul – 4 wickets so far!

8:25AM ET – Not a great score. India 247-6 after 46 overs.

8:18AM ET – HELL. Yuvraj Singh ((113) out c & b Kieron Pollard. India 240-6 Harbajan Singh is new batsman in.

8:10AM ET - STUPID Shot. Suresh Raina (4) Out c Ravi Rampaul b Darren Sammy . India 232-5 Yusuf Pathan is new batsman in.

7:56AM ET – Suresh Raina new batsman in

7:55AM ET – BAAD. M.S.Dhoni (22) Out st Thomas b Bishoo India 218-4

7:50AM ET – Great Century by Yuvraj. His first in a World Cup match. India 213-3 Thank you Darren Sammy for dropping 2 catches.

7:25AM ET – Where are the boundaries and the Sixes? India 180-3 after 34 overs. Run Rate 5.29

7:17AM ET – Indian captain M.S. Dhoni is new Indian batsman in. Yuvraj Singh is feeling sick. Perhaps, the heat is getting to him.

7:13AM ET – Baaad. Virat Kohli (59) b Ravi Rampaul. India 173-3 in 32.2 overs. All 3 wickets for Ravi Rampaul

7:10AM ET – Nice play. India 173-2 after 32 overs

6:47AM ET – Good going. India 137-2 after 27 overs. Run Rate 5.07 Virat Kohli 46. Yuvraj Singh 57

6:10AM ET – Not bad. India’s Run Rate 5.23. India 89-2 after 17 overs. Virat Kohli on 33 and Yuvraj Singh on 22

6:04AM ET – India 81-2 after 15 overs. Run Rate 5.40

5:51AM – India 67-2 after 12 overs. Darren Sammy drops Kohli catch.

5:37AM ET – NOT looking Good. Two Indian batsmen out in just 9 overs, both scalped by Ravi Rampaul (obviously of Indian descent)

5:36 AM ET – Yuvraj Singh new batsman in.

5:34 AM ET – TROUBLE. Gautam Gambhir Out. EZ catch by Andre Russell b Ravi Rampaul. India 51-2.

5:32AM ET – Despite loss of Tendulkar, India is forging ahead at a brisk pace. India 50-1 after 8 overs. Run Rate is more than decent at 6.25

5:16M ET – India 22-1 after 4 overs. Gambhir on 11. Virat Kohli on 4

5:06AM ET – Virat Kohli new batsman in

Stupid Ad – Though she’s born here, she’s Pure Punjabi. Sick Ad!

5:04AM – Tragedy. Sachin Tendulkar Out c Devon Thomas b Ravi Rampaul in first over. India 8-1 in last ball of first over

5:02AM ET – Gautam Gambhir and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar have opened for India.

Terroristan Poised for EZ Victory over OZ

Cricket 4 Responses »

Mar 192011

After bundling out Australia for a pitiful 176 in 46.4 overs, Terroristan aka Pakistan seems set for a comfortable victory at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo today.

Final Scores

Australia – 176-10 in 46.4 overs

Pakistan – 178-6 in 40.5 overs

Umar Akmal is Man of the Match

Given its low score, Australia had little chance or hope of victory.

12:19AM ET – Pakistan beats Australia by 4 wickets. 178-6

12:07PM ET – Pakistan in sight of victory. 162-6 after 38 overs. Need just 15 Runs to Win.

11:48M ET – A Couple of quick wickets & OZ can win

11:47AM ET – Match looks thrilling now. Abdul Razzaq is new batsman in. Pak 143-6 after 33 overs.

11:45AM ET – Hooray. Shahid Afridi OUT c Brett Lee b Krejza. Pak 142-6

11:40AM ET – YIPEE. Pak Lose another wicket. Asad Shafiq out c Watson b Johnson. Pak 139-5 after 32nd over. Need 38 Runs from 108 balls. Pak captain Shahid Afridi is new batsman in.

11:20AM ET – Pak coasting smoothly toward victory. At 120-4, Pak needs a mere 57 Runs in 23 overs to Win. Does not look difficult at all.

11:10AM ET – Pak 109-4 after 25 overs. 68 Runs needed from 25 overs. Pak still headed for EZ win

11:00AM ET – Umar Akmal new batsman in. Pak 98-4 after 23 overs. Need 79 Runs to win

10:58AM ET – Yaaahoooo Misbah-Ul-Haq out c Haddin b Lee. Aaya Haq gaya Haq. Pak 98-4

10:56AM ET – Hooray. Younus Khan Out. c Haddin b Brett Lee for 31 (42 balls) Pak 98-3

10:48AM ET – Pak 92-2 after 21 overs

10:39AM ET – Pakistan 83-2.

With 8 wickets in hand, Pakistan needs just 94 runs to win.

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Finally, a Decent Android Bazaar; Amazon Debuts Android Appstore

Blue Moon Beers Review – Nothing Remarkable

Uno Chicago Grill Review – Good Pizza, Awesome Bananas Foster Dessert, Crappy Fries

Picture of the Day – Uno Chicago Grill Veggie Pizza