Indian Premier League, the odds, the schedule and my favourite for this year.

The annual cricket jamboree called Indian Premier League is going to get underway from today with the first match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils at 8.00 pm.  This annual affair which is less cricket and more glitz and glamour makes the children's vacations fun and enjoyable.

The sixth version of the IPL which kicked of yesterday to the dance of Deepika and the songs featuring Pitbull is sure to run full houses.  The Sony SetMax which provides the live telecast of all the matches has reportedly already sold of all the ad slots.  Even Twitter has joined the IPL bandwagon with a special Twitter Discover page for IPL VI.  Even if you are not a cricket fan the extravaganza will get to you.  The match schedule is as under :

Match No.	Date	Time	Teams	Venue
1	3.4.13	20.00 IST	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
2	4.4.13	20.00 IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians	M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
3	5.4.13	20.00 IST	Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Pune Warriors	Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
4	6.4.13	16.00 IST	Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals	Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
5	6.4.13	20.00 IST	Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
6	7.4.13	16.00 IST	Pune Warriors India vs Kings XI Punjab	Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
7	7.4.13	20.00 IST	Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
8	8.4.13	20.00 IST	Rajasthan Royals Vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
9	9.4.13	16.00 IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Sunrisers Hyderabad	M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
10	9.4.13	20.00 IST	Mumbai Indian Vs Delhi Daredevils	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
11	10.4.13	20.00 IST	Kings XI Punjab Vs Chennai Super Kings	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
12	11.4.13	16.00 IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Kolkata Knight Riders	M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
13	11.4.13	20.00 IST	Pune Warriors India Vs Rajasthan Royals	Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
14	12.4.13	20.00 IST	Delhi Daredevils Vs Sunrisers Hyderabad	Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi
15	13.4.13	16.00 IST	Mumbai Indians Vs Pune Warriors India	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
16	13.4.13	20.00 IST	Chennai Super Kings Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
17	14.4.13	16.00 IST	Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Sunrisers Hyderabad	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
18	14.4.13	20.00 IST	Rajasthan Royals Vs Kings XI Punjab	Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
19	15.4.13	20.00 IST	Chennai Super Kings Vs Pune Warriors India	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
20	16.4.13	16.00 IST	Kings XI Punjab Vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
21	16.4.13	20.00 IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Delhi Daredevils	M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
22	17.4.13	16.00 IST	Pune Warriors India Vs Sunrisers Hyderabad	Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
23	17.4.13	20.00 IST	Rajasthan Royals Vs Mumbai Indians	Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
24	18.4.13	20.00 IST	Delhi Daredevils Vs Chennai Super Kings	Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi
25	19.4.13	20.00 IST	Sunrisers Hyderabad Vs Kings XI Punjab	Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
26	20.4.13	16.00 IST	Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Chennai Super Kings	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
27	20.4.13	20.00 IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Rajasthan Royals	M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
28	21.4.13	16.00 IST	Delhi Daredevils Vs Mumbai Indians	Ferozeshah Kotla Ground, Delhi
29	21.4.13	20.00 IST	Kings XI Punjab Vs Pune Warriors India	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
30	22.4.13	20.00 IST	Chennai Super Kings Vs Rajasthan Royals	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
31	23.4.13	16.00 IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Pune Warriors India	M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
32	23.4.13	20.00 IST	Kings XI Punjab Vs Delhi Daredevils	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
33	24.4.13	20.00 IST	Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Mumbai Indians	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
34	25.4.13	20.00 IST	Chennai Super Kings Vs Sunrisers Hyderabad	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
35	26.4.13	20.00 IST	Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Kings XI Punjab	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
36	27.4.13	16.00 IST	Rajasthan Royals Vs Sunrisers Hyderabad	Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
37	27.4.13	20.00 IST	Mumbai Indians Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
38	28.4.13	16.00 IST	Chennai Super Kings Vs Kolkata Knight Riders	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
39	28.4.13	20.00 IST	Delhi Daredevils Vs Pune Warriors India	Chhattisgarh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur
40	29.4.13	16.00 IST	Rajasthan Royals Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
41	29.4.13	20.00 IST	Mumbai Indians Vs Kings XI Punjab	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
42	30.4.13	20.00 IST	Pune Warriors India Vs Chennai Super Kings	Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
43	1.5.13	16.00 IST	Sunrisers Hyderabad Vs Mumbai Indians	Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
44	1.5.13	20.00 IST	Delhi Daredevils Vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Chhattisgarh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur
45	2.5.13	16.00 IST	Chennai Super Kings Vs Kings XI Punjab	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
46	2.5.13	20.00 IST	Pune Warriors India Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
47	3.5.13	20.00 IST	Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Rajasthan Royals	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
48	4.5.13	16.00 IST	Sunrisers Hyderabad Vs Delhi Daredevils	Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
49	5.5.13	16.00 IST	Mumbai Indians Vs Chennai Super Kings	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
50	5.5.13	20.00 IST	Rajasthan Royals Vs Pune Warriors India	Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
51	6.5.13	20.00 IST	Kings XI Punjab Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
52	7.5.13	16.00 IST	Rajasthan Royals Vs Delhi Daredevils	Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
53	7.5.13	20.00 IST	Mumbai Indians Vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
54	8.5.13	20.00 IST	Sunrisers Hyderabad Vs Chennai Super Kings	Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
55	9.5.13	16.00 IST	Kings XI Punjab Vs Rajasthan Royals	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
56	9.5.13	20.00 IST	Pune Warriors India Vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
57	10.5.13	20.00 IST	Delhi Daredevils Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Ferozeshah Kotla Ground, Delhi
58	11.5.13	16.00 IST	Pune Warriors India Vs Mumbai Indians	Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
59	11.5.13	20.00 IST	Kings XI Punjab Vs Sunrisers Hyderabad	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
60	12.5.13	16.00 IST	Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	JSCA International Cricket Stadium, Ranchi
61	12.5.13	20.00 IST	Rajasthan Royals Vs Chennai Super Kings	Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
62	13.5.13	20.00 IST	Mumbai Indians Vs Sunrisers Hyderabad	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
63	14.5.13	16.00 IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab	M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
64	14.5.13	20.00 IST	Chennai Super Kings Vs Delhi Daredevils	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
65	15.5.13	16.00 IST	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Pune Warriors India	JSCA International Cricket Stadium, Ranchi
66	15.5.13	20.00 IST	Mumbai Indians Vs Rajasthan Royals	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
67	16.5.13	16.00 IST	Kings XI Punjab Vs Delhi Daredevils	HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala
68	17.5.13	20.00 IST	Sunrisers Hyderabad Vs Rajasthan Royals	Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
69	18.5.13	16.00 IST	Kings XI Punjab Vs Mumbai Indians	HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala
70	18.5.13	20.00 IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Chennai Super Kings	M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
71	19.5.13	16.00 IST	Pune Warriors India Vs Delhi Daredevils	Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
72	19.5.13	20.00 IST	Sunrisers Hyderabad Vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
73	21.5.13	20.00 IST	Qualifier 1 (1st vs 2nd)	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
74	22.5.13	20.00 IST	Eliminator (3rd vs 4th)	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
75	23.5.13	20.00 IST	Qualifier 2 (Eliminator's winner vs Qualifier 1 loser)	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
76	26.5.13	20.00 IST	IPL 2013 final	Eden Gardens, Kolkata

The other most important aspect of IPL is betting and there is a huge betting industry which thrives on betting on the matches of IPL.  As per Ladbrokes the odds for today's matches are as follows : Delhi Daredevils : 6/5 and Kolkata Knight Riders 4/6.  The Ladbrokes gives out the tournament favourites tag to Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders at 9/2.  The unofficial figures for last years betting stood at Rs.42000 crores and this year it may cross Rs.50000 crores.

You may like it, you may hate it but if you live in India you will somehow be a part of the IPL for next 2 months. I personally predict the Delhi Daredevils to lift this years IPL.  So let the games begin. Please post your comments on this article.

Vijay Prabhu

Festo designs a Dragonfly Robot, not as flexible as the original but good

Festo has developed a robot called BionicOpter, which as you can see from the image is designed from a dragonfly.  The robot has been  modelled on a dragonfly, which as we all know is the nimblest of insects in the world.  

Using two sets of wings which are independent of each other,  it can move in any direction either vertically and backwards and also hover on the spot ala the dragonfly and the helicopter. 

As a human controls the BionicOpter through a App,  you can't expect it to be as fast or nimble as a dragonfly but it is very impressive.  The BionicOpter is 44 cms long  and has a wingspan of 63 cms and weighs around 175 grams making it one of the lightest robots ever developed by humans.  It uses  eight servo motors and has a manoeuvrable span of 13 degrees, nine in the wings, and four in the head and tail.   The BionicOpter has a wing beat frequency of  15 to 20 hertz which makes it possible to do the dragonfly like stunts albiet a little slow.

The whole flight mechanism is controlled by a single ARM microprocessor (however CNET website says that it is controlled by AMR microprocessor), which is controlled through a smartphone App which communicates with the robot, sending back constant data on the position and movement of the wings in order to stabilise the BionicOpter.  Inertia sensors measure the acceleration and tilt of the robot, while position and acceleration sensors measure the speed and direction of flight.. Though the effects of the BionicOpter can be seen in the future helicopters, the main use of the device will be to the armies of the world especially for spying with drone like effects. 

Checkout the video of the BionicOpter and you are sure to be surprised.

This actually may be a new dawn for phone controlled planes and copters.  Please post your comments on the BionicOpter.

Vijay Prabhu

Playboy now available for iPhone, however with one exception there will be no nude centrespreads

In a age when all over the world the content is getting more and more adult, Playboy is changing tune and has launched a App for iPhone which will not have any nude content.  Imagine that! a magazine that had the world hooked to its Playgirls and centrespreads is going non nude.

However it will still feature models and you get to see  "Content includes NON-NUDE girl pictorials and original lifestyle content (Food, Drink, Style, Travel)."  as described by iTunes.

However the in-App subscription may offer something different inside.  The in-App subscriptions cost as below :

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE$1.99
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE$19.99
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE$10.99
Miss Social Summer '12$0.99
Bundle: Jan-Feb 2013$1.99
Bundle: Dec 2012$0.99
Bundle: Late Summer$0.99
Bundle: March 2013$0.99
One off access - one year $19.99

If you are interested in the App and own a iOS device then get the App here from Apple Store.  You can also visit here for more iOS Apps.

Vijay Prabhu  

This one was not a April Fool prank; Swiftkey update actually has a Easter Egg in Android, try it

You may have smelled the screen for Google Nose or read the Youtube obit and about the subsequent non existent winner of Youtube championships, but this one is as real as it gets.  Download the new Swiftkey from Google Play and check this out.

A video released by the Swiftkey on April Fool's day was meant to be a prank.  In the video, the staff of Swiftkey show of some great Harlem shake moves while tilting their screens.  The tilt apparently forms some words and this gag actually exists in the updated version released on 26.3.2013.  This is supposed to be Easter Egg in the Swiftkey for Android devices.

Watch the video from the Swiftkey and check it out yourself

And this video was posted by Motodroidlite on Youtube giving out the tutorial for using Tilt.

And to actually do it yourself, activate this feature on your SwiftKey Keyboards,  type in “Tilt” and long-press on the word in the prediction drawer. Once you click on “SwiftKey Tilt”, the pinball will appear on the screen and you can move it around and enjoy doing the shakes like the Switfkey staff.

Come to think of it this actually may be a great innovation and may be the future of keyboards.  Download the updated version of Swiftkey here at Google Play and see for your self.

Please post your comments on this App.

Vijay Prabhu

FreePP; a free voice, mms and sms App for Android devices and Windows Phone

The world is just getting better and users continue to get goodies.  FreePP Inc has launched this very good App for Android called the FreePP.   This nifty little App can deliver voice over IP with ease.  

FreePP is a free VoIP and multimedia SMS application that works across all platforms. You can enjoy FreePP on your Android phone and any other smartphones and tablets with any OS. 

Wherever you are, as long as you are connected to the internet through WiFi or 3G, you can have one to one/one to many free voice calls, free texts, free picture sharing and messages with FreePP users around the globe.
Four main functions of FreePP:
1. Voice call: excellent voice quality that makes you feel like chitchatting with friends who sit right next to you!
2. Multimedia message: With FreePP, real time sharing is just within a click! It’s fun and convenient. You can send texts, emoticons, pictures, voice messages, and other files to your FreePP contacts. 
3. Many to Many group chat: FreePP enables a friendly group chat environment. Now you and your friends around the world can easily share lives through texts, voice messages and pictures.
4. File sending support: FreePP android version supported send for files, music, movies and many other types of files that transferred freely between Android phone! It’s make you convenient to work, share and play anywhere.

Remember once you and your contact are both on FreePP, all your calls, texts, and multimedia messages will be free! International calls or calls across different devices/platforms would no longer be a trouble! They are still free. However, if you are calling someone who is not a FreePP user, you will be charged by local operators and  No missed messages: FreePP remains active even when you are not using it. You would never miss a single call or message. When your phones are turned off, notifications will arrive when you turn them on. 

Give it a try on Google Play  Windows Phone also has a version which you can download from here, it works on Windows Phone 7.5 as well as 8.

Please post your comments regarding this App.

Vijay Prabhu

Know your credit rating online in matter of seconds on Android with Credit Karma

First a word of warning this App may not work in India but if you are based in the US give it a try.  It gives you your free credit score in matter of minutes.  You have to be a member for FREE in-app and you will get your credit score as well as free on-the-go credit monitoring with Credit Karma Mobile.

The features include :

✔ Truly free credit scores
✔ Free on-the-go credit monitoring
✔ Notifications when something important changes in your credit report
✔ Credit Report Card, which tells you about factors influencing your credit score
✔ Free membership. No credit card required.
✔ Safe and secure.

Download the App now from Google Play and give it a try.    Please visit here for other Android Apps and post your views and comments on it

Vijay Prabhu

If you are German or a Germany fan, this is a the App for you; German Tv for Android devices

No better way to watch German TV channels on Android than German Tv by Olster Group.  You may be a Germany fan or not but you can't get these channels on your local cable or satellite TV. So hop on to App which is for Android devices and totally free.

It doesn't use any extra devices and has following channels for your individual taste.

3sat
ARD
Arte
Euronews
Kika
Light Channel TV Deuchland
NDR
OK:TV Mainz
ORF 1 HQ
ORF 2 EUROPE HQ
ORF 2 HQ
ORF 3 HQ
ORF SPORT+ HQ
RTL
RTL II
RTL Tele Letzebourg
SAT1
SuperRTL
Viva
VOX
VIVA
YOL TV
WMZ TV
ZDF

Though the App supports all connections like Wifi/3g/4g it is recommended that you use wi-fi connection with unlimited data plan because the channels are data hogs and you will be left with a big big internet bill.

Please download the App from Google Play.  Post in your comments on the App.

Vijay Prabhu