Disney buys Pixar in $10bn deal

ENTERTAINMENT giant Walt Disney Co will buy computer animation studio Pixar in a $US7.4 billion ($9.85 billion) deal.Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs, chairman and chief executive at Pixar, will join Disney's board of directors under the agreement.

Disney agreed to acquire Pixar in an all-stock transaction expected to be completed by mid year, Disney president Robert Iger said.
The famed Disney-Pixar relationship looked to be over when Mr Jobs announced two years ago that his company would pull out of its distribution deal with Disney and seek a new partner.

Mr Jobs had reportedly demanded a greater share of the profits from the deal.
The tie-up has created a perfect record of six blockbuster hits from as many productions over the past decade, so Mr Jobs' announcement sent Disney into a panic over the future of its own struggling animation unit.
Pixar produced major hits such as The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and A Bug's Life.
Cars, to be released this year, had been scheduled to be the last film under the tie-up.
Pixar employees have won 15 Academy Awards and the films have made nearly $US3 billion at the box office.
"With this transaction, we welcome and embrace Pixar's unique culture, which for two decades, has fostered some of the most innovative and successful films in history," Mr Iger said.

" The addition of Pixar significantly enhances Disney animation, which is a critical engine for driving growth across our businesses."
Ed Catmull was designated president and John Lasseter as chief creative officer of a combined Pixar and Disney Animation Studios.

Source:Reuters

Birthmonth gives U R Type

JANUARY:
Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious.
Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people's flaws and
weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and
productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep
thoughts.
Knows how to make ! others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed.
Rather
reserved. High ly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to
colds.
Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children.
Loyal.
Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very Stubborn and
money cautious.

_______________________________________________
FEBRUARY:
Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract.
Intelligent and clever.
Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental.
Quiet, shy and humble. Honest
And loyal.
Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious
when restricted. Loves aggressiveness.
Too sensitive and easily hurt.
Gets angry really easily but those not show it.
Dislike unnecessary things.
Loves making friends but rarely shows it.
Daring and stubborn.
Ambitious. Realizing dreams and hopes. Sharp.
Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside.
Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show
Emotions.
________________________________
MARCH:
Attractive personality. sexy.
Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive.
Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic.
Loves peace and serenity.
Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others.
Easily angered. Trustworthy.
Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others.
Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention.
Hasty decisions in choosing partners.
Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.
_______________________________
APRIL:
Active and dynamic. Decisive and haste but tends to regret.
Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality.
Loves attention.
Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people's problems.
Brave and fearless. Adventurous.
Loving and caring. Suave and generous.
Emotional.
Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory.
Moving Motivates oneself and others.
Sickness usually of the head and chest.
Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.
_________________________________
MAY:
Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated.
Sharp thoughts. Easily angered.
Attracts others and loves attention.
Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally.
Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation.
Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain).
Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance.
Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck.
Good imagination.
Good physical. Weak breathing.
Loves literature and the arts.
Loves traveling. Dislike being at home.
Restless. Not having many children.
Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.
______________________! _________
JUNE:
Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness.
Polite and soft-spoken. Having lots of ideas.
Sensitive. Active mind.
Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best.
Temperamental. Funny and humorous.
Loves to joke. Good debating skills.
Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends.
Abiding. Able to show character. Easily hurt.
Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up.
Easily bored. Fussy.
Seldom shows emotions.
Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious.
Executive.
Stubborn.
_________________________________
JULY:
Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be
understood.
Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has
reputation.
Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people's feelings.
Tactful.
Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable.
Moody and easily hurt.
Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but
never forgets.
Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others
physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully.
Caring and loving.
Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp.
Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in
studying.
Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends.
Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends
. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked.
Prone to having stomach and dieting problems.
Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.
_________________________________
AUGUST:
Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring.
Brave and fearless.
Firm and has leadership qualities.
Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic.
Takes high pride of oneself. Thirsty for praises.
Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered.
Angry when provoked. Easily jealous.
Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly.
Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led.
Loves to dream.
Talented in the arts, music and
defense.
Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses.
Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic.
Loving and caring. Loves to make friends .
_________________________________
SEPTEMBER:
Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized.
Likes to point out people's mistakes. Likes to criticize.
Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool.
Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed.
Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident.
Sensitive.
Thinking generous. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable.
Loves to look for information.
Must control oneself when criticizing.
Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive.
Loves sports, leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions.
Tends to bottle up feelings.
Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.
_________________________________
OCTOBER:
Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them.
Loves to takes things at the center.
Inner and physical beauty.
Lies but doesn't pretend. Gets angry often.
Treats friends importantly.
Always making friends.
Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated.
Does not care of what others think.
Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance.
Loves to travel, the arts and literature.
Touchy and easily jealous.
Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair.
Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence
. Loves children.
_________________________________
NOVEMBER:
Have a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique
And brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong
clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality.
Secretive.
Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less
talkative but
amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If
there is
a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes
angry
unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others.
Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciates praises.
High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions.
Romantic.
Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities.
Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control
emotions.
Unpredictable
_________________________________
DECEMBER:
Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and
interactions.
Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun
to be
with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to
be loved.
Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing
personality. Not egoistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates
restrictions.
Loves to joke. Good sense of humor.

LOVE STORY [ Must Read ]

Peter and Tina are sitting in the park doing nothing, but just gazing into the sky, while all their friends are having fun with their beloved half. Tina: I'm so bored. Just wish I have a boyfriend now to spend time with. Peter: I guess we're the only leftovers. We're the only person who isn't with a date now. (both sigh n silence for a while)

Tina: I think I have a good idea. Lets play a game Peter: Eh? What game?

Tina: Eem..It's quite simple. You be my boyfriend for 100 days and I'll be your girlfriend for 100 days. what do you think?

Peter: Oookay..Anyway I don't have any plan for the next few months.

Tina: You sound like you aren't looking forward to it at all. Cheer up. Today will be our first day and our first date. Where should we go?

Peter: What about a movie? I hear! d that there is a really great movie in theatre now.

Tina: Seems like I don't have any better idea than this. Lets move. (went to watch their movies and sent each other home)

Day 2: Peter and Tina went to a concert together, and Peter bought Tina a keychain with a star.

Day 3: They went shopping together for a friend's birthday present. Share an ice-cream together and hugged each other for the first time.

Day 7: Peter drove Tina up onto a mountain and they watch the sunset together.
When the night came and the moon glowed, they said sat on the grass gazing at the stars together. A meteor passed by. Tina mumbled something.

Day 25: Spend time at a themepark and got onto rollercoasters, and ate hot-dogs and cotton candy. Peter and Tina got in the haunted house and Tina grabbed someone's hand instead of Peter's hand by ! accident. They laughed together for a while.

Day 67: They drove pass a circus and decided to get in to watch the show. The midget asked Tina to play a part as his assistant in the magic show. Went around to see other entertainments around after the show.
Came to a fortune teller and she just said "Treasure every moment from now on" and a tear rolled down the fortune teller's cheek.
Day 84: Tina suggested that they go to the beach. The beach wasn't so crowded that day. They have their first kiss with each other just as the sun is setting.

Day 99: They decided to have a simple day and is deciding to have a walk around the city.
They sits down onto a bench.

1:23 pm

Tina: I'm thirsty. Lets rest for a while first.

Peter: Wait here while I go buy some drinks. What would you like?

Tina: Eem...Apple juice will be just fine.

1:43 pm Tina waiting for about 20 minutes and Peter haven't return.
Then someone walked up to her.

Stranger: Is your name Tina?

Tina: Yes, and may I help you?

Stranger: Just now down there on the street a drunk driver has crashed into a guy.
I think its your friend. Tina ran over to the spot with the stranger and sees Peter lying on the floor with blood over his face and her apple juice still in his hands. The ambulance came and she went to the hospital with Peter. Tina sat outside the emergency room for five and a half hours. The doctor came out, and he sigh.

11:51 pm

Doctor: I'm sorry, but we did the best we could.
He is still breathing now but God would take him away from us very soon. We found this letter inside his pocket. The doctor hands over the letter to Tina and she goes into the room! to see Peter. He look weak but peaceful. Tina read the letter and then she burst into tears.

Here is what the letter said....... Tina, our 100 days is almost over. I had fun with you during all these days. Although you may be greedy sometimes and less thoughtful, but these all brought happiness into my life. I have realise that you are a really cute girl and blamed myself for never taken the time to knowing that. I have nothing much to ask for, but I just wish that we can extend the day.
I want to be your boyfriend forever and wish that you can be beside me all the time. Tina, I love you.

11:58

Tina: (sobbing) Peter. Did you know what was the wish I made on the night there was a meteor. I asked God to let us last forever. We were supposing to last 100 days so Peter! You can't leave me! I LOVE YOU, but can you come back to me now? I love you Peter. I LOVE YOU.

As the clock struck twelve, Peter's heart stopped beating. It was 100 days.


NOTE*
Tell the guy or girl that you love them before its too late. You never know whats going to happen tomorrow. You never know who will be leaving you and never return.

Host Color Launches New Site Builder Software

Host Color (www.hostcolor.com) has launched its new WebSite Builder software. The software is developed by Host Color programmers using open source components such as the TinyMCE html editor. Customers with Host Color hosting accounts will be able to use the online tool to create a functional Website in minutes.

The idea of the WebSite Builder is to enable people with little or no technical expertise to publish their Website without the need of any additional software. The Builder lets users choose colors, fonts and basic layout for their site. Users can enter content for different sections of their site through an online WYSIWYG editor.
Once the site content is ready the Website is uploaded automatically. The published version of the Website is saved automatically so later customers can return to the Builder and edit and re-arrange their content.

"When creating our software we have been aiming at maximum ease-of-use, functionality and flexibility. We aim to provide tools for customers of all backgrounds and experience. This new offer is mainly for novice users and we are sure they will find it useful. Host Color however also offers many advanced tools such as pre-installed Mambo Content Management System, WorldPress Blog software and phpBB Forum. We are now in a stage of very rapid development and customers can expect much more quality tools for their online presence before the end of the year," says Host Color's Executive Director Vesselin Drangajov.
The hosting company has also announced that it extents its .CA and .US domain registration promotion until December 31 2005.

About Host ColorHost Color has been operating on the hosting market since 2000. Company hosts thousands of personal and business web sites. Most of our clients are from the USA, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and EU countries. Host Color runs it's own equipment, servers and cabinets, located in data centers in United States and Europe. US data center is located in South Bend, Indiana.

source:creativepro

Living on the Moon by 2015

Australian astronaut Andy Thomas was planning to retire in the next couple of years, but wants to help with a NASA project that will hopefully have man living on the moon

The space shuttle veteran is working on a new NASA project to help man live on the moon.
And in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he revealed his new project may even keep him at NASA for a few more years.
Adelaide-born Thomas had been planning to retire in the next two years but said his new mission would make it hard to leave the famed space agency.

"I'm getting involved in the new lunar exploration project to return to the moon around 2015," Thomas said.

"We're looking at new lunar habitations systems. We are also looking at what we are going to do when we get there."

Thomas said NASA's mission to start living on the moon would begin with a series of sorties to the planet to conduct site surveys.
These would be followed by several flights on a new payload rocket and separate landing vehicle to drop off resources such as rover exploration vehicles and habitation modules "so they can spend up to six months there."

He said much of the technology developed on the ISS would be used to develop the moon colony which was likely to be on the polar regions where water had been found.
"That opens up the opportunities to develop ways to live off the land," he said.
He added if an invite for a moon mission came, "you wouldn't see me for dust".

source:new.com.au

Photoshop TV and Photoshop Radio Offer First Look at Adobe Lightroom Beta

The top rated video podcast - Photoshop TV - is giving viewers an extended "first look" at Adobe® Lightroom™ in this week's episode totally dedicated to this exciting new product (http://www.photoshoptv.com/) on air today. Additionally, this week's Photoshop Radio podcast (http://www.photoshopuser.com/lightroom/photoshopradio.html) offers an insightful discussion of "Apple's Aperture vs. Adobe's Lightroom: Who Comes out on Top?" Produced by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), both Photoshop TV and Photoshop Radio programs are hosted by the Photoshop Guys Scott Kelby with co-hosts Dave Cross and Matt Kloskowski. More Adobe Lightroom tips, techniques, articles and news can be found free on the NAPP Lightroom Learning Center at http://www.photoshopuser.com/lightroom -- the most complete resource for learning Adobe Lightroom.

About NAPP
The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) is an accredited, dynamic trade association and the world's leading resource for Adobe® Photoshop® training, news, and education. An award-winning team of Photoshop experts, authors, consultants, and trainers lead the association keeping its members on the cutting edge of Adobe Photoshop techniques and technology. With more than 47,000 members in 106 countries, NAPP is the largest graphics and digital imaging association worldwide. Visit http://www.photoshopuser.com <" target="http://www.photoshopuser.com>">http://www.photoshopuser.com>; for more information.

தைப்பொங்கல் வாழ்த்துக்கள் | Happy Ponngal

Muvee photoCentric style pack [ Review ]

By Jan Ozer
Let's face it, pan and zoom, transitions, and sync to music are nice. But most slide shows we produce are still fairly prosaic, creatively chained to the earth, so to speak, by tools with limited options and by the truth that few of us are trained as movie makers. You can accept this status quo, or you can try muvee autoProducer ($69.99 direct) with the new muvee photoCentric style pack ($19.95 direct. Though the lack of control can get frustrating, the results are almost sure to delight.

muvee autoProducer made its bones as a program for converting raw video footage into a music videolike production. The workflow is similar with video and still images: You insert your files into the program, add background music, and choose a "style" that dictates the pace and the range of special effects applied. The program then analyzes the content and pieces it into a production that often rivals MTV quality, a process that took less than 2 minutes with our 100-image test file. After the initial analysis, you can test other styles and preview them in just a few seconds.

On our tests, with the Action photoCentric style, muvee elegantly applied more than 15 different effects, including multipoint pan and zoom, image rotation, transparencies, wipes, and picture-in-picture with multicolor frames and widescreen framing, all at a swift pace of about one effect every 2 seconds or so. The result is stunningly different from that delivered by any of the other products reviewed here; it's almost as if you paid a local film student to create your slide show for you.

Admittedly, there are several drawbacks to this approach, primarily the lack of control. When muvee is finished, it delivers a final, edited muvee that you can't adjust. muvee's content-detection algorithms seem to pick faces out fairly well, so these are generally well presented. But in our test videos, some full-length shots of a newborn baby were very poorly framed, and our only option was to try a different style (you get six in the photoCentric pack) or delete the image from the slide show.
muvee doesn't offer narration capabilities, and you also have to trim, crop, and color-correct your images beforehand, as muvee lacks these features. DVD-burning options are also limited; you can add multiple videos to a DVD, but you have to choose between nine largely fixed menu templates.

Source:pcmag

Adobe Lightroom Public Beta Release

By Galen Fott
When Apple released its digital imaging program Aperture last fall, many wondered how the new program would affect the relationship between the Macintosh computers that professional photographers typically use and the Adobe software that is usually running on those machines. With the public beta release of its Lightroom software on January 9, Adobe seems to be taking an active interest in this question.
Like Aperture, Lightroom isn't designed to be a substitute for the multifaceted powers of Adobe Photoshop. Both Lightroom and Aperture are targeted at professional photographers, providing a complete workflow solution for managing, editing, and outputting digital images. The emphasis is on RAW format photos, but not to the exclusion of JPEGs. While there's some overlap with Photoshop's toolset, neither Lightroom nor Aperture offer layers, selection tools, or a text tool.

But there are striking differences between Aperture and Lightroom, most notably that Lightroom will be a cross-platform application, running in Microsoft Windows as well as on the Mac. Adobe isn't developing the Mac and Windows versions concurrently, and the initial public beta release is Mac-only. But Adobe states that the Windows version won't ship far behind the Mac version (though that's currently not scheduled to happen until late this year).
Another important difference for Mac users is that Lightroom's system requirements are less strenuous than Aperture's. Adobe requires minimally a 1-GHz G4 processor with 768MB of RAM and only 1,024-by-768 screen resolution. The Windows requirements should be roughly analogous.

Adobe stresses that Lightroom is a work in progress. The public beta release—an unusual step for Adobe—is intended to allow photographers plenty of opportunity for input as Adobe adds features and polishes the application. But judging from the beta, Lightroom is off to a compelling start. The interface is sleek and dark, designed to showcase your images with a minimum of distractions. The program is divided into four modules. The Library module is where you organize, sort, rate, and add keywords to your photos. Image enhancement happens inside the Develop module. The Slideshow module lets you create customized slide shows that can be viewed onscreen immediately or exported to HTML, Flash, and PDF formats. Finally, the Print module provides tools for making contact sheets or picture packages.

Mac users—particularly those with systems not up to snuff for running Aperture—may well want to download Lightroom at labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom and check it out for themselves. As with the original release of Photoshop, Windows users will have to wait a bit.

Source:pcmag