Thursday, March 11, 2010
New Iran rocket launch site shows NKorea links: IHS Jane's
Iran is building a new rocket launch site a short distance from an existing complex in the north of the country, and seems to be working with North Korea, information group IHS Jane's said today. Construction visible from satellite imagery of the new site, near the city of Semnan east of Tehran, seems to suggest that Tehran has been collaborating with Pyongyang, said the London-based defence intelligence group. Iran unveiled the Simorgh space-launch vehicle (SLV) on February 3, but had not yet publicly revealed the location of the rocket's launch complex, it reported. But Jane's said it had observed a new launch pad four kilometres northeast of the existing Semnan site on a satellite image dated February 6, which it said could ultimately launch Tehran's next-generation Simorgh rocket. The site includes a gantry tower which is 13 metres wide, approximately 18-20 metres tall "and has a cliff-side flame bucket nearly as high as the tower itself. "It appears midway towards completion," it said, adding that the launch pad could easily accommodate the 27-metre Simorgh if the gantry were to be extended by an additional 10 metres. And it added: "The development of the Semnan facility and the Simorgh SLV both demonstrate the likelihood of collaboration with North Korea in Iran's missile programme.
Flawless Tendulkar 200 gives India series
It took nearly 40 years of waiting and it was well worth it, sachin tendulkar chose one of the better bowling attacks doing the rounds, to eclipse the record for the highest score, before bringing up the first double-hundred in ODI history.
The spectators at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium became the envy of cricket fans as they witnessed one of the country's favourite sporting heroes play a breathtaking innings which not only set up a 153-run annihilation but also the series victory. He may have been run-out cheaply in the previous match, but nothing could deny him today - be it bowlers, fielders, mix-ups or cramps. Dinesh kartik , Yusuf Pathan and m.s dhoni stood by and admired as the master unfurled all the shots in his repertoire.
At 36, Tendulkar hasn't shown signs of ageing, and his sparkling touch in both forms of the game has ruled out all possibilities of him checking out anytime soon. Fatigue, cramps and paucity of time have stood in the way of batsmen going that extra mile to get to the 200-mark. Tendulkar did cramp up after crossing 150, but he didn't opt for a runner. His experience of 20 years at the international level came into play in this historic innings, staying at the crease from the first ball to the last, never once losing focus. There were no chances offered, no dropped catches, making his innings absolutely flawless.
A swirl of emotions must have run through his mind as he approached one record after another but he ensured he was never lost in the moment. His running between the wickets remained just as swift as it had been at the start of the innings. The humidity in Gwalior was bound to test him but he stood above it all and played like he owned the game, toying with the bowling with a mix of nonchalance and brute power.
In the 46th over, with a flick for two past short fine-leg, Tendulkar broke the record for the highest ODI score, going past the 194 made by Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry and Pakistan's Saeed Anwar, and to say that he acknowledged his feat modestly would be an understatement. His muted celebration on going past 194, true to style, made his innings all the more endearing.
He didn't raise his bat, merely shook hands with Mark Boucher and simply carried on batting amid the din. Coming from a man who is not known to showing too much emotion with the bat in hand, it wasn't surprising. He reserved his celebrations for the magic figure of 200, which he reached in the final over with a squirt off Charl Langeveldt past backward point. He raised his bat, took off his helmet and looked up at the skies and it was only fitting that one-day cricket's highest run-getter reached the landmark.
Tendulkar's innings featured strokes of the highest quality, but his true genius was exemplified by one particular shot which rendered even the best bowler in the world helpless. In the first over of the batting Powerplay - taken in the 35th over - Dale Steyn fired it in the block-hole for three deliveries outside off to keep him quiet. Tendulkar, feeling the need to improvise, walked right across his stumps and nonchalantly flicked him across the line, hopping in his crease on one leg to bisect the gap at midwicket.
A helpless Steyn watched the ball speed away and merely shrugged his shoulders. There was no use searching for excuses or venting frustrations at the temerity of that shot. It was just that kind of afternoon for the bowlers.
It wasn't all just about the cheekiness of his shots. His timing and placement were the hallmarks at the start of his innings. On a road of a pitch which offered no margin of error for the bowlers, he squeezed out full deliveries past the covers and off his pads. With no seam movement on offer, Jacques Kallis took the slips off and placed them in catching positions within the 15-yard circle, hoping to induce a mistake. But Tendulkar outplayed all of them, making room to manoeuver it past a number of green shirts. There were a minimum of two runs on offer each time the ball was placed wide of them and the quick outfield did the rest.
Once he got his eye in, the short boundaries and the flat pitch were too inviting. Virender Sehwag's dismissal for 11, caught at third man, was just an aberration as Karthik, Pathan and Dhoni traded cricket bats for golf clubs. Driving and lofting through the line had never been this easy. Tendulkar could have driven them inside out in his sleep.
The two century stands, with Karthik and then with Dhoni, may well get lost in the scorecard but they were vital building blocks. Karthik rotated the strike well in their stand of 194, struck three clean sixes and helped himself to his career-best performance. That partnership sent out ominous signs to the South Africans that they were in for something massive. Add Dhoni's bludgeoning hits and scoops and you had a score in excess of 400.
Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Roelof van der Merwe and Jacques Kallis all got out cheaply within the first 15 overs. de Villiers motored along at more than a run-a-ball, and collected 13 fours and two sixes. South Africa had to rely on the services of nine men to muster 200 - for India one man sufficed.Tendulkar's knock drew parallels with Brendon McCullum's frenetic 158 in the IPL opener in Bangalore two years ago. The match was all about individual brilliance but not a contest. While such games are good in small doses, for one-day cricket to survive on the whole, it needs more contests between bat and ball.
The spectators at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium became the envy of cricket fans as they witnessed one of the country's favourite sporting heroes play a breathtaking innings which not only set up a 153-run annihilation but also the series victory. He may have been run-out cheaply in the previous match, but nothing could deny him today - be it bowlers, fielders, mix-ups or cramps. Dinesh kartik , Yusuf Pathan and m.s dhoni stood by and admired as the master unfurled all the shots in his repertoire.
At 36, Tendulkar hasn't shown signs of ageing, and his sparkling touch in both forms of the game has ruled out all possibilities of him checking out anytime soon. Fatigue, cramps and paucity of time have stood in the way of batsmen going that extra mile to get to the 200-mark. Tendulkar did cramp up after crossing 150, but he didn't opt for a runner. His experience of 20 years at the international level came into play in this historic innings, staying at the crease from the first ball to the last, never once losing focus. There were no chances offered, no dropped catches, making his innings absolutely flawless.
A swirl of emotions must have run through his mind as he approached one record after another but he ensured he was never lost in the moment. His running between the wickets remained just as swift as it had been at the start of the innings. The humidity in Gwalior was bound to test him but he stood above it all and played like he owned the game, toying with the bowling with a mix of nonchalance and brute power.
In the 46th over, with a flick for two past short fine-leg, Tendulkar broke the record for the highest ODI score, going past the 194 made by Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry and Pakistan's Saeed Anwar, and to say that he acknowledged his feat modestly would be an understatement. His muted celebration on going past 194, true to style, made his innings all the more endearing.
He didn't raise his bat, merely shook hands with Mark Boucher and simply carried on batting amid the din. Coming from a man who is not known to showing too much emotion with the bat in hand, it wasn't surprising. He reserved his celebrations for the magic figure of 200, which he reached in the final over with a squirt off Charl Langeveldt past backward point. He raised his bat, took off his helmet and looked up at the skies and it was only fitting that one-day cricket's highest run-getter reached the landmark.
Tendulkar's innings featured strokes of the highest quality, but his true genius was exemplified by one particular shot which rendered even the best bowler in the world helpless. In the first over of the batting Powerplay - taken in the 35th over - Dale Steyn fired it in the block-hole for three deliveries outside off to keep him quiet. Tendulkar, feeling the need to improvise, walked right across his stumps and nonchalantly flicked him across the line, hopping in his crease on one leg to bisect the gap at midwicket.
A helpless Steyn watched the ball speed away and merely shrugged his shoulders. There was no use searching for excuses or venting frustrations at the temerity of that shot. It was just that kind of afternoon for the bowlers.
It wasn't all just about the cheekiness of his shots. His timing and placement were the hallmarks at the start of his innings. On a road of a pitch which offered no margin of error for the bowlers, he squeezed out full deliveries past the covers and off his pads. With no seam movement on offer, Jacques Kallis took the slips off and placed them in catching positions within the 15-yard circle, hoping to induce a mistake. But Tendulkar outplayed all of them, making room to manoeuver it past a number of green shirts. There were a minimum of two runs on offer each time the ball was placed wide of them and the quick outfield did the rest.
Once he got his eye in, the short boundaries and the flat pitch were too inviting. Virender Sehwag's dismissal for 11, caught at third man, was just an aberration as Karthik, Pathan and Dhoni traded cricket bats for golf clubs. Driving and lofting through the line had never been this easy. Tendulkar could have driven them inside out in his sleep.
The two century stands, with Karthik and then with Dhoni, may well get lost in the scorecard but they were vital building blocks. Karthik rotated the strike well in their stand of 194, struck three clean sixes and helped himself to his career-best performance. That partnership sent out ominous signs to the South Africans that they were in for something massive. Add Dhoni's bludgeoning hits and scoops and you had a score in excess of 400.
Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Roelof van der Merwe and Jacques Kallis all got out cheaply within the first 15 overs. de Villiers motored along at more than a run-a-ball, and collected 13 fours and two sixes. South Africa had to rely on the services of nine men to muster 200 - for India one man sufficed.Tendulkar's knock drew parallels with Brendon McCullum's frenetic 158 in the IPL opener in Bangalore two years ago. The match was all about individual brilliance but not a contest. While such games are good in small doses, for one-day cricket to survive on the whole, it needs more contests between bat and ball.
3 Idiots, Dev D top winners at Filmfare Awards
Two vastly different films swept up an equal number of trophies at the 55th Idea Filmfare AROLE OF HONOUR Best Film 3 Idiots Best Director RAJ KUMAR HIRANI 3 Idiots Best Actor (Male) AMITABH BACHCHAN Paa Best Actor (Female ) VIDYA BALAN Paa Best Supporting Actor (Male ) BOMAN IRANI 3 Idiots Best Supporting Actor (Female ) KALKI KOECHLIN Dev D Best Music A R RAHMAN Delhi 6 Best Lyrics IRSHAD KAMIL Aaj din chadya, Love Aaj Kal Best Playback (Male) MOHIT CHAUHAN Masakali, Delhi 6 Best Playback (Female ) KAVITA SETH Iktara, Wake Up Sid REKHA BHARDWAJ Genda phool, Delhi 6 Critics’ Award for Best Director NANDITA DAS Firaaq Critics’ Award Best Actor (Male) RANBIR KAPOOR Wake Up Sid, Ajab Prem, Rocket Singh Critics’ Award for Best Actor (Female ) MAHIE GILL Dev D Best Story ABHIJAT JOSHI, RAJ KUMAR HIRANI 3 Idiots Best Screenplay ABHIJAT JOSHI, RAJ KUMAR HIRANI, VIDHU VINOD CHOPRA 3 Idiots Best Dialogue RAJ KUMAR HIRANI & ABHIJAT JOSHI 3 Idiots Best Production Design & Art Direction HELEN JONES, SUKANTA PANIGRAHI Dev D Best Editing SREEKAR PRASAD Firaaq Best Cinematography RAJEEV RAVI Dev D Best Visual Effects GOVARDHAN VIGHARAN, VINAY SINGH CHUPHAL Kaminey Best Action VIJAYAN MASTER Wanted Best Choreographer BOSCO-CAESER Chor bazaari, Love Aaj Kal Best Background Score AMIT TRIVEDI Dev D Best Sound Desig n MANAS CHAUDHARY Firaaq Best Costumes VAISHALI MENON Firaaq R D Burman Award for New Musical Talent AMIT TRIVEDI Wake Up Sid, Dev D Best Debut AYAAN MUKHERJI Wake Up Sid ZOYA AKHTAR Luck By Chance Lifetime Achievement Awards SHASHI KAPOOR, KHAYYAM
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
NASA's solar mission takes off
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) lifted off on Thursday, Feb 11 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 41 on a first-of-a-kind mission to reveal the sun's inner workings in unprecedented detail. The most technologically advanced of NASA's heliophysics spacecraft; SDO will take images of the sun every 0.75 seconds and daily send back about 1.5 terabytes of data to Earth - the equivalent of streaming 380 full-length movies."This is going to be sensational," said Richard R Fisher, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington."SDO is going to make a huge step forward in our understanding of the sun and its effects on life and society," he added.SDO will explore activity on the sun that can disable satellites, cause power grid failures, and disrupt GPS communications.SDO also will provide a better understanding of the role the sun plays in Earth's atmospheric chemistry and climate.The mission is the cornerstone of a NASA science program called Living With A Star.This program will provide new understanding and information concerning the sun and solar system that directly affect Earth, its inhabitants andtechnology.
Introducing Google Buzz
We've blogged before about our thoughts on the social web, steps we've taken to add social features to our products, and efforts like OpenSocial that propose common tools for building social apps. With more and more communication happening online, the social web has exploded as the primary way to share interesting stuff, tell the world what you're up to in real-time and stay more connected to more people. In today's world of status messages, tweets and update streams, it's increasingly tough to sort through it all, much less engage in meaningful conversations.
Our belief is that organizing the social information on the web — finding relevance in the noise — has become a large-scale challenge, one that Google's experience in organizing information can help solve. We've recently launched innovations like real-time search and Social Search, and today we're taking another big step with the introduction of a new product, Google Buzz.Google Buzz is a new way to start conversations about the things you find interesting. It's built right into Gmail, so you don't have to peck out an entirely new set of friends from scratch — it just works. If you think about it, there's always been a big social network underlying Gmail. Buzz brings this network to the surface by automatically setting you up to follow the people you email and chat with the most. We focused on building an easy-to-use sharing experience that richly integrates photos, videos and links, and makes it easy to share publicly or privately (so you don't have to use different tools to share with different audiences). Plus, Buzz integrates tightly with your existing Gmail inbox, so you're sure to see the stuff that matters most as it happens in real time.
We're rolling out Buzz to all Gmail accounts over the next few days, so if you don't see it in your account yet, check back soon. We also plan to make Google Buzz available to businesses and schools using Google Apps, with added features for sharing within organizations.On your phone, Google Buzz is much more than just a small screen version of the desktop experience. Mobile devices add an important component to sharing: location. Posts tagged with geographical information have an extra dimension of context — the answer to the question "where were you when you shared this?" can communicate so much. And when viewed in aggregate, the posts about a particular location can paint an extremely rich picture of that place. Check out the Mobile Blog for more info about all of the ways to use Buzz on your phone, from a new mobile web app to a Buzz layer in Google Maps for mobile.
We've relied on other services' openness in order to build Buzz (you can connect Flickr and Twitter from Buzz in Gmail), and Buzz itself is not designed to be a closed system. Our goal is to make Buzz a fully open and distributed platform for conversations. We're building on a suite of open protocols to create a complete read/write developer API, and we invite developers to join us on Google Code to see what is available today and to learn more about how to participate.We really hope you enjoy the experiences we've built within Gmail and for mobile phones. If you want to learn more, visit buzz.google.com. We look forward to continuing to evolve and improve Google Buzz based on your feedback.
What's the Buzz (really) About Google Buzz?
"Google Buzz is a new way to start conversations about the things you find interesting. It's built right into Gmail, so you don't have to peck out an entirely new set of friends from scratch - it just works. If you think about it, there's always been a big social network underlying Gmail. Buzz brings this network to the surface by automatically setting you up to follow the people you email and chat with the most. We focused on building an easy-to-use sharing experience that richly integrates photos, videos and links, and makes it easy to share publicly or privately (so you don't have to use different tools to share with different audiences). Plus, Buzz integrates tightly with your existing Gmail inbox, so you're sure to see the stuff that matters most as it happens in real time." quoted from Google.
Hmmmm...does anybody else out there find this new tool kind of annoying? I know I do. Just another way to get people to sign up with Gmail as far as I see it.
I'll stick with Twitter (which I just let everything feed into), Facebook, Active Rain and WordPress personally. That's enough for me. I don't care to be "automatically set up" to follow people and I don't know that others want to be set up to follow me either.
Google Buzz - the lamentable history
Google Buzz just started being rolled out to Gmail users a few days ago, including for mobile, with the location you're posting from (apparently it'll be rolled out soon to businesses and schools too - even riskier, that!). If, like me, you weren't one of the first to get it, count yourself lucky.
It's caused a storm of protest in the blogosphere, leading to some climbdowns on Google's part, and changes to how it works, because it invaded Gmail users' privacy in the worst possible ways.
For anyone who's not heard, it represents Google's attempt to get into social networking and online sharing of status updates, photos etc, by making all Gmail account holders (whether they liked it or not) users of Google Buzz, a kind of cross between Twitter and Facebook - with APIs for developers too, of course.
Molly Wood of CNET puts the problems succinctly:
"I do not, however, like a product that bursts through my door like a tornado and opts me in to wanton in-box clutter and spam (or, more precisely, bacn) publicly reveals my personal contact list without asking me, threatens to broadcast my e-mail address anytime someone wants to @ me in a Buzz, and even appears to grab photos off my Android phone that I've never uploaded."
It doesn't give you a choice of whether you wanted to use Buzz or not. Even if you said "No Thanks" to checking out its features, you still get the Buzz link in your Gmail under your Inbox, plus the other Buzz "benefits".
Even worse, it automatically decides who you "Follow", based on some weird stuff to do with who you've chatted with (e.g. someone I'd just talked to 2 or 3 times a year ago got added!) and, supposedly, who you've emailed, or who's emailed you, the most - which, in one woman's case, included her abusive ex-husband, not good. In my case, it didn't even pick up the people I email with most frequently.
Worse still, those you're automatically made to "Follow", and those who "Follow" you, are publicly listed in your Google profile (which you're forced to create if you didn't have one already). I repeat, you aren't given a choice at the start whether to display those "Follow" lists or not, and it wasn't easy to figure out how to turn off the display. You want the whole world to know who you've been emailing or who's been contacting you? I thought not.
People also couldn't block people who didn't have public profiles from following them - anyone can follow you in Buzz.
Personally, I also object to Google assuming that when I share stuff on Google Reader, it's shared with all my Google Buzz followers too. In fact I use Share on Google Reader as an alternative to starring things for myself, as you can only have one colour / type of star on Reader (unlike Gmail).
Amongst other things, Google clearly didn't appreciate that the people you want to share Google Reader items with are not necessarily your email contacts! Indeed they seemed to think it was an advantage:
So one of the first things I did was to UNlink Google Reader from Buzz, because Google had of course automatically linked it.
And another thing - Buzz spams your Inbox and Sent box in Gmail with Buzzes.
Improvements
Now, all after the "feedback" (aka complaints!), there have been a few U-turns just over the last couple of days:
1. Google have made it easier to find the option to make your Follow listsprivate - though, smacks to Google, public is still ticked by default
2. soon Google will turn auto-follow into auto-suggest (which is it what it should have been in the first place), so you can decide whether to go with Google's suggestion or not
3. "Buzz will no longer connect your public Picasa Web Albums and Google Reader shared items automatically"
4. They're adding a Buzz tab to Gmail Settings.
All stuff that should have been done from the get go.
And there are still privacy problems - just because you've hidden the list of who's following you, e.g. X, doesn't mean X has hidden their list of who they're following, so you could still be on X's public list!
It seems your email address can be discovered from your profile.
There's still not enough granularity and control over separation. As I said people you share one set of things with may not be people you want to share another set of things with!
While Buzz allows "private" messages to be posted to just one group, it appears to be the same groups you have in Google Reader (Coworkers, Family, Friends, "My Contacts"). You can't have separate groups for Buzz purposes.
Protecting your privacy against Buzz
Lots of people have posted about how to tone down Buzz, so I won't do it in detail. Here's some links/info:
1. scroll to the bottom of your Gmail main page and click "turn off buzz" (note this apparently doesn't turn it off for all purposes)
2. if you want Buzz, you should seriously consider making your Follow lists private - it's easier to do that now; click the Buzz link under your Inbox link, and then the first time you click your name on the Buzz page or click in the box into which you're supposed to type status update messages, this sort of window now pops up and you shouldUNtick the "Show the list" box, then Save:If you don't have a public profile, try clicking the "View and follow back" or "View and edit" link on the Buzz page; and there may be a tiny box at the bottom of the pop up window, which of course you have to scroll to to find; then and UNtick that.
3. while you're at it, click "view connected sites", and for ones at the top of the list, click Edit then Remove site to unshare them:
4. save your Gmail Inbox from Buzz spam
5. generally, see the privacy checklist which was recommended by the EFF
6. if you're posting to Buzz via your mobile phone or cellphone, make sure you decline to share your location. This is really scary because you can't limit the broadcasting of your location only to a certain group of people, it's either on or off. Stalker heaven, much?
Lessons for Google
People are becoming more sensitive about privacy - and so should Google, if only to avoid getting into hot water with privacy regulators.
Google has already been criticised by EU data protection regulators for the length of time it holds IP address information relating to Google searches.
Facebook has been investigated by Canadian regulators, not once, but twice.
Email is not social media; it's even more private, and privacy mistakes with email are even worse. Broadstuff, who point out this incident will only make people more suspicious of Google, have an excellent summary of the position and what Google ought to be doing next to save themselves: GOOGLE BUZZ - ANATOMY OF A SLOW MOTION TRAIN WRECK - including splitting it off from Gmail.
As LightBlueTouchPaper noted, Google need to review internally all new products or services for privacy implications, as standard. before forcing them onto unsuspecting and, more importantly, unconsenting users, in order to avoid bad press or indeed privacy law breaches leading to fines and the like.
You'd have thought Google would have learned something from the furore over their Chrome terms of service in late 2008. Maybe it's time for their lawyers to be given a more important role in Google. Quite seriously.
The Danger of Google Buzz
Google just released its new social media platform. Google Buzz allows you to share pictures, thoughts and even your location with your friends. If you already have a Gmail, all you have to do is click the Google Buzz button to get started. But wait!
Industry insiders point to several potentialsecurity concernswith Google's new wunderkind. One problem is that Google Buzz automatically sets you up with followers and people to follow. Is there anyone on your current contact list with whom you would prefer not to share your photos and the details of your daily life? You see the problem.
While Google is working to patch these security issues, it may be best to hold off on Google Buzz until privacy advocates give the all clear. If you already signed up, here are some step-by-step directions to make sure you have turned off Google Buzz completely.
Google Alters Buzz to Tackle Privacy Flaws
Google moved quickly to contain a firestorm of criticism over Buzz, its new social network, taking the unusual step of announcing changes to the product over the weekend to address privacy problems.
Late Saturday, Todd Jackson, product manager for Gmail and Google Buzz,wrote in a blog post that Google had decided to alter one of the most vehemently criticized features in Buzz: the ready-made circle of friends that Buzz gives new users based on their most frequent e-mail and chat contacts. Now, instead of automatically connecting people, Buzz merely suggests to new users a group of people that they may want to follow or want to be followed by.
Mr. Jackson, who said the auto-follow feature had been designed to make it easy to get started on Buzz, acknowledged the criticism that has been heaped on Google over the past few days.
Many people just wanted to check out Buzz and see if it would be useful to them, and were not happy that they were already set up to follow people. This created a great deal of concern and led people to think that Buzz had automatically displayed the people they were following to the world before they created a profile.…Starting this week, instead of an auto-follow model in which Buzz automatically sets you up to follow the people you email and chat with most, we’re moving to an auto-suggest model. You won’t be set up to follow anyone until you have reviewed the suggestions and clicked “Follow selected people and start using Buzz.”
Google will give users who have already signed up the same start-up screen as new users over the next two weeks, to give them a “second chance to review and confirm” the people they are following.
Buzz will also no longer connect public Picasa albums and items users shared on Google Reader automatically, another feature that had been heavily criticized by some users and privacy advocates.
Finally, Google is creating a new Buzz tab in Gmail’s settings page that allows users to hide Buzz from Gmail completely. The page gives users the option to disable Buzz, deleting their posts and, importantly, removing their Google profile, which in many cases listed publicly a user’s circle of contacts in Buzz. The new feature could address concerns that turning off Buzz and removing a public profile was a multi-step process that confused many users and that some described as a game of whack-a-mole.
The changes that Google announced on Saturday will be implemented over the next few days.
Some critics of Buzz said the changes appeared to address the biggest privacy problems with the service.
“Turning off the auto-follow was a huge improvement, as is giving Buzz its own control panel area,” Danny Sullivan, a longtime Google analyst and the editor of SearchEngineLand, said in an e-mail message. “That was a real pain, trying to locate where all the settings were.”
Mr. Jackson closed his post with a dose of contrition and an apology.
We quickly realized that we didn’t get everything quite right. We’re very sorry for the concern we’ve caused and have been working hard ever since to improve things based on your feedback. We’ll continue to do so.
Our belief is that organizing the social information on the web — finding relevance in the noise — has become a large-scale challenge, one that Google's experience in organizing information can help solve. We've recently launched innovations like real-time search and Social Search, and today we're taking another big step with the introduction of a new product, Google Buzz.Google Buzz is a new way to start conversations about the things you find interesting. It's built right into Gmail, so you don't have to peck out an entirely new set of friends from scratch — it just works. If you think about it, there's always been a big social network underlying Gmail. Buzz brings this network to the surface by automatically setting you up to follow the people you email and chat with the most. We focused on building an easy-to-use sharing experience that richly integrates photos, videos and links, and makes it easy to share publicly or privately (so you don't have to use different tools to share with different audiences). Plus, Buzz integrates tightly with your existing Gmail inbox, so you're sure to see the stuff that matters most as it happens in real time.
We're rolling out Buzz to all Gmail accounts over the next few days, so if you don't see it in your account yet, check back soon. We also plan to make Google Buzz available to businesses and schools using Google Apps, with added features for sharing within organizations.On your phone, Google Buzz is much more than just a small screen version of the desktop experience. Mobile devices add an important component to sharing: location. Posts tagged with geographical information have an extra dimension of context — the answer to the question "where were you when you shared this?" can communicate so much. And when viewed in aggregate, the posts about a particular location can paint an extremely rich picture of that place. Check out the Mobile Blog for more info about all of the ways to use Buzz on your phone, from a new mobile web app to a Buzz layer in Google Maps for mobile.
We've relied on other services' openness in order to build Buzz (you can connect Flickr and Twitter from Buzz in Gmail), and Buzz itself is not designed to be a closed system. Our goal is to make Buzz a fully open and distributed platform for conversations. We're building on a suite of open protocols to create a complete read/write developer API, and we invite developers to join us on Google Code to see what is available today and to learn more about how to participate.We really hope you enjoy the experiences we've built within Gmail and for mobile phones. If you want to learn more, visit buzz.google.com. We look forward to continuing to evolve and improve Google Buzz based on your feedback.
What's the Buzz (really) About Google Buzz?
"Google Buzz is a new way to start conversations about the things you find interesting. It's built right into Gmail, so you don't have to peck out an entirely new set of friends from scratch - it just works. If you think about it, there's always been a big social network underlying Gmail. Buzz brings this network to the surface by automatically setting you up to follow the people you email and chat with the most. We focused on building an easy-to-use sharing experience that richly integrates photos, videos and links, and makes it easy to share publicly or privately (so you don't have to use different tools to share with different audiences). Plus, Buzz integrates tightly with your existing Gmail inbox, so you're sure to see the stuff that matters most as it happens in real time." quoted from Google.
Hmmmm...does anybody else out there find this new tool kind of annoying? I know I do. Just another way to get people to sign up with Gmail as far as I see it.
I'll stick with Twitter (which I just let everything feed into), Facebook, Active Rain and WordPress personally. That's enough for me. I don't care to be "automatically set up" to follow people and I don't know that others want to be set up to follow me either.
Google Buzz - the lamentable history
Google Buzz just started being rolled out to Gmail users a few days ago, including for mobile, with the location you're posting from (apparently it'll be rolled out soon to businesses and schools too - even riskier, that!). If, like me, you weren't one of the first to get it, count yourself lucky.
It's caused a storm of protest in the blogosphere, leading to some climbdowns on Google's part, and changes to how it works, because it invaded Gmail users' privacy in the worst possible ways.
For anyone who's not heard, it represents Google's attempt to get into social networking and online sharing of status updates, photos etc, by making all Gmail account holders (whether they liked it or not) users of Google Buzz, a kind of cross between Twitter and Facebook - with APIs for developers too, of course.
Molly Wood of CNET puts the problems succinctly:
"I do not, however, like a product that bursts through my door like a tornado and opts me in to wanton in-box clutter and spam (or, more precisely, bacn) publicly reveals my personal contact list without asking me, threatens to broadcast my e-mail address anytime someone wants to @ me in a Buzz, and even appears to grab photos off my Android phone that I've never uploaded."
It doesn't give you a choice of whether you wanted to use Buzz or not. Even if you said "No Thanks" to checking out its features, you still get the Buzz link in your Gmail under your Inbox, plus the other Buzz "benefits".
Even worse, it automatically decides who you "Follow", based on some weird stuff to do with who you've chatted with (e.g. someone I'd just talked to 2 or 3 times a year ago got added!) and, supposedly, who you've emailed, or who's emailed you, the most - which, in one woman's case, included her abusive ex-husband, not good. In my case, it didn't even pick up the people I email with most frequently.
Worse still, those you're automatically made to "Follow", and those who "Follow" you, are publicly listed in your Google profile (which you're forced to create if you didn't have one already). I repeat, you aren't given a choice at the start whether to display those "Follow" lists or not, and it wasn't easy to figure out how to turn off the display. You want the whole world to know who you've been emailing or who's been contacting you? I thought not.
People also couldn't block people who didn't have public profiles from following them - anyone can follow you in Buzz.
Personally, I also object to Google assuming that when I share stuff on Google Reader, it's shared with all my Google Buzz followers too. In fact I use Share on Google Reader as an alternative to starring things for myself, as you can only have one colour / type of star on Reader (unlike Gmail).
Amongst other things, Google clearly didn't appreciate that the people you want to share Google Reader items with are not necessarily your email contacts! Indeed they seemed to think it was an advantage:
So one of the first things I did was to UNlink Google Reader from Buzz, because Google had of course automatically linked it.
And another thing - Buzz spams your Inbox and Sent box in Gmail with Buzzes.
Improvements
Now, all after the "feedback" (aka complaints!), there have been a few U-turns just over the last couple of days:
1. Google have made it easier to find the option to make your Follow listsprivate - though, smacks to Google, public is still ticked by default
2. soon Google will turn auto-follow into auto-suggest (which is it what it should have been in the first place), so you can decide whether to go with Google's suggestion or not
3. "Buzz will no longer connect your public Picasa Web Albums and Google Reader shared items automatically"
4. They're adding a Buzz tab to Gmail Settings.
All stuff that should have been done from the get go.
And there are still privacy problems - just because you've hidden the list of who's following you, e.g. X, doesn't mean X has hidden their list of who they're following, so you could still be on X's public list!
It seems your email address can be discovered from your profile.
There's still not enough granularity and control over separation. As I said people you share one set of things with may not be people you want to share another set of things with!
While Buzz allows "private" messages to be posted to just one group, it appears to be the same groups you have in Google Reader (Coworkers, Family, Friends, "My Contacts"). You can't have separate groups for Buzz purposes.
Protecting your privacy against Buzz
Lots of people have posted about how to tone down Buzz, so I won't do it in detail. Here's some links/info:
1. scroll to the bottom of your Gmail main page and click "turn off buzz" (note this apparently doesn't turn it off for all purposes)
2. if you want Buzz, you should seriously consider making your Follow lists private - it's easier to do that now; click the Buzz link under your Inbox link, and then the first time you click your name on the Buzz page or click in the box into which you're supposed to type status update messages, this sort of window now pops up and you shouldUNtick the "Show the list" box, then Save:If you don't have a public profile, try clicking the "View and follow back" or "View and edit" link on the Buzz page; and there may be a tiny box at the bottom of the pop up window, which of course you have to scroll to to find; then and UNtick that.
3. while you're at it, click "view connected sites", and for ones at the top of the list, click Edit then Remove site to unshare them:
4. save your Gmail Inbox from Buzz spam
5. generally, see the privacy checklist which was recommended by the EFF
6. if you're posting to Buzz via your mobile phone or cellphone, make sure you decline to share your location. This is really scary because you can't limit the broadcasting of your location only to a certain group of people, it's either on or off. Stalker heaven, much?
Lessons for Google
People are becoming more sensitive about privacy - and so should Google, if only to avoid getting into hot water with privacy regulators.
Google has already been criticised by EU data protection regulators for the length of time it holds IP address information relating to Google searches.
Facebook has been investigated by Canadian regulators, not once, but twice.
Email is not social media; it's even more private, and privacy mistakes with email are even worse. Broadstuff, who point out this incident will only make people more suspicious of Google, have an excellent summary of the position and what Google ought to be doing next to save themselves: GOOGLE BUZZ - ANATOMY OF A SLOW MOTION TRAIN WRECK - including splitting it off from Gmail.
As LightBlueTouchPaper noted, Google need to review internally all new products or services for privacy implications, as standard. before forcing them onto unsuspecting and, more importantly, unconsenting users, in order to avoid bad press or indeed privacy law breaches leading to fines and the like.
You'd have thought Google would have learned something from the furore over their Chrome terms of service in late 2008. Maybe it's time for their lawyers to be given a more important role in Google. Quite seriously.
The Danger of Google Buzz
Google just released its new social media platform. Google Buzz allows you to share pictures, thoughts and even your location with your friends. If you already have a Gmail, all you have to do is click the Google Buzz button to get started. But wait!
Industry insiders point to several potentialsecurity concernswith Google's new wunderkind. One problem is that Google Buzz automatically sets you up with followers and people to follow. Is there anyone on your current contact list with whom you would prefer not to share your photos and the details of your daily life? You see the problem.
While Google is working to patch these security issues, it may be best to hold off on Google Buzz until privacy advocates give the all clear. If you already signed up, here are some step-by-step directions to make sure you have turned off Google Buzz completely.
Google Alters Buzz to Tackle Privacy Flaws
Google moved quickly to contain a firestorm of criticism over Buzz, its new social network, taking the unusual step of announcing changes to the product over the weekend to address privacy problems.
Late Saturday, Todd Jackson, product manager for Gmail and Google Buzz,wrote in a blog post that Google had decided to alter one of the most vehemently criticized features in Buzz: the ready-made circle of friends that Buzz gives new users based on their most frequent e-mail and chat contacts. Now, instead of automatically connecting people, Buzz merely suggests to new users a group of people that they may want to follow or want to be followed by.
Mr. Jackson, who said the auto-follow feature had been designed to make it easy to get started on Buzz, acknowledged the criticism that has been heaped on Google over the past few days.
Many people just wanted to check out Buzz and see if it would be useful to them, and were not happy that they were already set up to follow people. This created a great deal of concern and led people to think that Buzz had automatically displayed the people they were following to the world before they created a profile.…Starting this week, instead of an auto-follow model in which Buzz automatically sets you up to follow the people you email and chat with most, we’re moving to an auto-suggest model. You won’t be set up to follow anyone until you have reviewed the suggestions and clicked “Follow selected people and start using Buzz.”
Google will give users who have already signed up the same start-up screen as new users over the next two weeks, to give them a “second chance to review and confirm” the people they are following.
Buzz will also no longer connect public Picasa albums and items users shared on Google Reader automatically, another feature that had been heavily criticized by some users and privacy advocates.
Finally, Google is creating a new Buzz tab in Gmail’s settings page that allows users to hide Buzz from Gmail completely. The page gives users the option to disable Buzz, deleting their posts and, importantly, removing their Google profile, which in many cases listed publicly a user’s circle of contacts in Buzz. The new feature could address concerns that turning off Buzz and removing a public profile was a multi-step process that confused many users and that some described as a game of whack-a-mole.
The changes that Google announced on Saturday will be implemented over the next few days.
Some critics of Buzz said the changes appeared to address the biggest privacy problems with the service.
“Turning off the auto-follow was a huge improvement, as is giving Buzz its own control panel area,” Danny Sullivan, a longtime Google analyst and the editor of SearchEngineLand, said in an e-mail message. “That was a real pain, trying to locate where all the settings were.”
Mr. Jackson closed his post with a dose of contrition and an apology.
We quickly realized that we didn’t get everything quite right. We’re very sorry for the concern we’ve caused and have been working hard ever since to improve things based on your feedback. We’ll continue to do so.
India restaurant bomb blast kills nine in Pune
At least nine people have been killed and 57 others injured in a bomb attack at a restaurant in India's western city of Pune, officials say.
The explosion tore through the German Bakery, which is popular with tourists, in Koregaon Park.
The bombing is the first major strike of its kind in India since the deadly Mumbai attacks in November 2008.
Reports that one of the dead is a foreign national have not yet been confirmed by the Indian authorities.
Several foreigners were said to be among the injured.
The explosion at the restaurant, on North Main Road, happened at about 1900 (1330 GMT), when it was packed with diners.
"It appears that an unattended package was noticed in the bakery by one of the waiters who apparently attempted to open the package when the blast took place," Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
"We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so great that there were body parts everywhere," Vinod Dhale, who works at the restaurant, told Reuters.
'High alert'
Anti-terror squad officers have gone to the scene.
Nearby shops were badly damaged and reported to have been splattered with blood.
"I came running to the bakery after hearing the explosion. I found people lying all over the place", local resident Abba More told AP.
Initial reports had suggested the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder.
The German Bakery is near the Osho Ashram, a mystic centre popular with visitors to Pune.
The Chabad centre, run by the Jewish Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement, is also in the vicinity.
Members of the Chabad-Lubavitch were targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and in October 2009 the home ministry issued a security alert for the Chabad centre in Pune.
No-one has yet said they carried out the latest attack.
However Home Minister P Chidambaram described it as "a significant terrorist incident".
"All the evidence points to a deliberate plot," he told AFP.
The bomb blast comes a day after India and Pakistan agreed to meet for talks in Delhi on February 25.
The talks will be their first formal negotiations since the Mumbai attacks.
No conclusions could be drawn yet as to who was responsible for the blast, Mr Pillai said.
"Forensic investigations have just begun. Till they are completed, we will not know who is [involved]", he told AP.
The home ministry has issued an advisory to all state governments to be on high alert.
An explosion Saturday at an eatery in the western Indian city of Pune killed at least eight people and injured 33 others, authorities said.
"It appears to be a bomb blast, and bombs obviously are related to terrorism," said U.K. Bansal, special secretary for security in India's Interior Ministry.
Four of the dead were not from India, he told CNN.
Home Secretary G.K. Pillai told reporters that the explosives were packed in a bag noticed by a waiter at the popular eatery called the German Bakery. The explosion occurred about 7:30 p.m. local time Saturday.
Rajendra Sonawane, joint police commissioner for the city, said the blast struck the German Bakery in Pune's Koregaon Park, sister network CNN-IBN reported.
Initially, authorities thought a cooking gas cylinder had exploded at the bakery, but all cylinders were accounted for, according to CNN-IBN.
An anti-terrorism squad is assisting in the investigation, Chandra Iyengar, home secretary for Maharashtra state, told CNN. However, he wouldn't confirm the blast as a terrorist attack.
The German Bakery is frequented by tourists. It's near the Osho Ashram, a commune founded by the late Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who returned to India from the United States in the 1980s.
Bomb blast kills at least 9 in India
PUNE, India (Reuters) - A bomb ripped through a packed restaurant in the Indian city of Pune on Saturday, killing at least eight people including one foreigner in the country's first big attack since the 2008 Mumbai massacre.
The explosion came a day after India and Pakistan agreed to meet for high-level talks in New Delhi on February 25. New Delhi suspended a four-year-old peace process with Islamabad after the Mumbai attacks, blamed on Pakistani-based militants.
Police said the bomb was hidden in a bag left in the German Bakery restaurant, a favorite of Jewish and European visitors, when it was full of tourists on Saturday evening.
"We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so much that there were tiny body parts everywhere," said Vinod Dhale, an employee at the bakery.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded 32 people. But any sign of Pakistani involvement would worsen relations between the two nuclear rivals and further destabilize a region overshadowed by war in Afghanistan.
"Let us wait for the forensic report before we draw any conclusion," said Home (interior) Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram. "Let us not speculate," he urged reporters and promised that his ministry would issue an official statement on the attack every 4-6 hours.
Debris was strewn all around the bakery, located near an ashram or religious retreat which is also frequented by foreigners, and a Jewish center. The impact of the blast knocked the bakery's sign off, blew out windows and left a large crater inside the restaurant.
"It (the bomb) was under one of the tables ... We transferred lots of people to the ambulances ... there is no German Bakery any more," one foreigner, short of breath and resting against a wall, told local CNN-IBN television.
Police first said that four foreigners were killed but later the state government officials revised this to one.
The explosion tore through the German Bakery, which is popular with tourists, in Koregaon Park.
The bombing is the first major strike of its kind in India since the deadly Mumbai attacks in November 2008.
Reports that one of the dead is a foreign national have not yet been confirmed by the Indian authorities.
Several foreigners were said to be among the injured.
The explosion at the restaurant, on North Main Road, happened at about 1900 (1330 GMT), when it was packed with diners.
"It appears that an unattended package was noticed in the bakery by one of the waiters who apparently attempted to open the package when the blast took place," Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
"We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so great that there were body parts everywhere," Vinod Dhale, who works at the restaurant, told Reuters.
'High alert'
Anti-terror squad officers have gone to the scene.
Nearby shops were badly damaged and reported to have been splattered with blood.
"I came running to the bakery after hearing the explosion. I found people lying all over the place", local resident Abba More told AP.
Initial reports had suggested the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder.
The German Bakery is near the Osho Ashram, a mystic centre popular with visitors to Pune.
The Chabad centre, run by the Jewish Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement, is also in the vicinity.
Members of the Chabad-Lubavitch were targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and in October 2009 the home ministry issued a security alert for the Chabad centre in Pune.
No-one has yet said they carried out the latest attack.
However Home Minister P Chidambaram described it as "a significant terrorist incident".
"All the evidence points to a deliberate plot," he told AFP.
The bomb blast comes a day after India and Pakistan agreed to meet for talks in Delhi on February 25.
The talks will be their first formal negotiations since the Mumbai attacks.
No conclusions could be drawn yet as to who was responsible for the blast, Mr Pillai said.
"Forensic investigations have just begun. Till they are completed, we will not know who is [involved]", he told AP.
The home ministry has issued an advisory to all state governments to be on high alert.
An explosion Saturday at an eatery in the western Indian city of Pune killed at least eight people and injured 33 others, authorities said.
"It appears to be a bomb blast, and bombs obviously are related to terrorism," said U.K. Bansal, special secretary for security in India's Interior Ministry.
Four of the dead were not from India, he told CNN.
Home Secretary G.K. Pillai told reporters that the explosives were packed in a bag noticed by a waiter at the popular eatery called the German Bakery. The explosion occurred about 7:30 p.m. local time Saturday.
Rajendra Sonawane, joint police commissioner for the city, said the blast struck the German Bakery in Pune's Koregaon Park, sister network CNN-IBN reported.
Initially, authorities thought a cooking gas cylinder had exploded at the bakery, but all cylinders were accounted for, according to CNN-IBN.
An anti-terrorism squad is assisting in the investigation, Chandra Iyengar, home secretary for Maharashtra state, told CNN. However, he wouldn't confirm the blast as a terrorist attack.
The German Bakery is frequented by tourists. It's near the Osho Ashram, a commune founded by the late Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who returned to India from the United States in the 1980s.
Bomb blast kills at least 9 in India
PUNE, India (Reuters) - A bomb ripped through a packed restaurant in the Indian city of Pune on Saturday, killing at least eight people including one foreigner in the country's first big attack since the 2008 Mumbai massacre.
The explosion came a day after India and Pakistan agreed to meet for high-level talks in New Delhi on February 25. New Delhi suspended a four-year-old peace process with Islamabad after the Mumbai attacks, blamed on Pakistani-based militants.
Police said the bomb was hidden in a bag left in the German Bakery restaurant, a favorite of Jewish and European visitors, when it was full of tourists on Saturday evening.
"We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so much that there were tiny body parts everywhere," said Vinod Dhale, an employee at the bakery.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded 32 people. But any sign of Pakistani involvement would worsen relations between the two nuclear rivals and further destabilize a region overshadowed by war in Afghanistan.
"Let us wait for the forensic report before we draw any conclusion," said Home (interior) Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram. "Let us not speculate," he urged reporters and promised that his ministry would issue an official statement on the attack every 4-6 hours.
Debris was strewn all around the bakery, located near an ashram or religious retreat which is also frequented by foreigners, and a Jewish center. The impact of the blast knocked the bakery's sign off, blew out windows and left a large crater inside the restaurant.
"It (the bomb) was under one of the tables ... We transferred lots of people to the ambulances ... there is no German Bakery any more," one foreigner, short of breath and resting against a wall, told local CNN-IBN television.
Police first said that four foreigners were killed but later the state government officials revised this to one.
India restaurant bomb blast kills nine in Pune
At least nine people have been killed and 57 others injured in a bomb attack at a restaurant in India's western city of Pune, officials say.
The explosion tore through the German Bakery, which is popular with tourists, in Koregaon Park.
The bombing is the first major strike of its kind in India since the deadly Mumbai attacks in November 2008.
Reports that one of the dead is a foreign national have not yet been confirmed by the Indian authorities.
Several foreigners were said to be among the injured.
The explosion at the restaurant, on North Main Road, happened at about 1900 (1330 GMT), when it was packed with diners.
"It appears that an unattended package was noticed in the bakery by one of the waiters who apparently attempted to open the package when the blast took place," Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
"We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so great that there were body parts everywhere," Vinod Dhale, who works at the restaurant, told Reuters.
'High alert'
Anti-terror squad officers have gone to the scene.
Nearby shops were badly damaged and reported to have been splattered with blood.
"I came running to the bakery after hearing the explosion. I found people lying all over the place", local resident Abba More told AP.
Initial reports had suggested the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder.
The German Bakery is near the Osho Ashram, a mystic centre popular with visitors to Pune.
The Chabad centre, run by the Jewish Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement, is also in the vicinity.
Members of the Chabad-Lubavitch were targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and in October 2009 the home ministry issued a security alert for the Chabad centre in Pune.
No-one has yet said they carried out the latest attack.
However Home Minister P Chidambaram described it as "a significant terrorist incident".
"All the evidence points to a deliberate plot," he told AFP.
The bomb blast comes a day after India and Pakistan agreed to meet for talks in Delhi on February 25.
The talks will be their first formal negotiations since the Mumbai attacks.
No conclusions could be drawn yet as to who was responsible for the blast, Mr Pillai said.
"Forensic investigations have just begun. Till they are completed, we will not know who is [involved]", he told AP.
The home ministry has issued an advisory to all state governments to be on high alert.
An explosion Saturday at an eatery in the western Indian city of Pune killed at least eight people and injured 33 others, authorities said.
"It appears to be a bomb blast, and bombs obviously are related to terrorism," said U.K. Bansal, special secretary for security in India's Interior Ministry.
Four of the dead were not from India, he told CNN.
Home Secretary G.K. Pillai told reporters that the explosives were packed in a bag noticed by a waiter at the popular eatery called the German Bakery. The explosion occurred about 7:30 p.m. local time Saturday.
Rajendra Sonawane, joint police commissioner for the city, said the blast struck the German Bakery in Pune's Koregaon Park, sister network CNN-IBN reported.
Initially, authorities thought a cooking gas cylinder had exploded at the bakery, but all cylinders were accounted for, according to CNN-IBN.
An anti-terrorism squad is assisting in the investigation, Chandra Iyengar, home secretary for Maharashtra state, told CNN. However, he wouldn't confirm the blast as a terrorist attack.
The German Bakery is frequented by tourists. It's near the Osho Ashram, a commune founded by the late Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who returned to India from the United States in the 1980s.
Bomb blast kills at least 9 in India
PUNE, India (Reuters) - A bomb ripped through a packed restaurant in the Indian city of Pune on Saturday, killing at least eight people including one foreigner in the country's first big attack since the 2008 Mumbai massacre.
The explosion came a day after India and Pakistan agreed to meet for high-level talks in New Delhi on February 25. New Delhi suspended a four-year-old peace process with Islamabad after the Mumbai attacks, blamed on Pakistani-based militants.
Police said the bomb was hidden in a bag left in the German Bakery restaurant, a favorite of Jewish and European visitors, when it was full of tourists on Saturday evening.
"We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so much that there were tiny body parts everywhere," said Vinod Dhale, an employee at the bakery.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded 32 people. But any sign of Pakistani involvement would worsen relations between the two nuclear rivals and further destabilize a region overshadowed by war in Afghanistan.
"Let us wait for the forensic report before we draw any conclusion," said Home (interior) Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram. "Let us not speculate," he urged reporters and promised that his ministry would issue an official statement on the attack every 4-6 hours.
Debris was strewn all around the bakery, located near an ashram or religious retreat which is also frequented by foreigners, and a Jewish center. The impact of the blast knocked the bakery's sign off, blew out windows and left a large crater inside the restaurant.
"It (the bomb) was under one of the tables ... We transferred lots of people to the ambulances ... there is no German Bakery any more," one foreigner, short of breath and resting against a wall, told local CNN-IBN television.
Police first said that four foreigners were killed but later the state government officials revised this to one.
The explosion tore through the German Bakery, which is popular with tourists, in Koregaon Park.
The bombing is the first major strike of its kind in India since the deadly Mumbai attacks in November 2008.
Reports that one of the dead is a foreign national have not yet been confirmed by the Indian authorities.
Several foreigners were said to be among the injured.
The explosion at the restaurant, on North Main Road, happened at about 1900 (1330 GMT), when it was packed with diners.
"It appears that an unattended package was noticed in the bakery by one of the waiters who apparently attempted to open the package when the blast took place," Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
"We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so great that there were body parts everywhere," Vinod Dhale, who works at the restaurant, told Reuters.
'High alert'
Anti-terror squad officers have gone to the scene.
Nearby shops were badly damaged and reported to have been splattered with blood.
"I came running to the bakery after hearing the explosion. I found people lying all over the place", local resident Abba More told AP.
Initial reports had suggested the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder.
The German Bakery is near the Osho Ashram, a mystic centre popular with visitors to Pune.
The Chabad centre, run by the Jewish Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement, is also in the vicinity.
Members of the Chabad-Lubavitch were targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and in October 2009 the home ministry issued a security alert for the Chabad centre in Pune.
No-one has yet said they carried out the latest attack.
However Home Minister P Chidambaram described it as "a significant terrorist incident".
"All the evidence points to a deliberate plot," he told AFP.
The bomb blast comes a day after India and Pakistan agreed to meet for talks in Delhi on February 25.
The talks will be their first formal negotiations since the Mumbai attacks.
No conclusions could be drawn yet as to who was responsible for the blast, Mr Pillai said.
"Forensic investigations have just begun. Till they are completed, we will not know who is [involved]", he told AP.
The home ministry has issued an advisory to all state governments to be on high alert.
An explosion Saturday at an eatery in the western Indian city of Pune killed at least eight people and injured 33 others, authorities said.
"It appears to be a bomb blast, and bombs obviously are related to terrorism," said U.K. Bansal, special secretary for security in India's Interior Ministry.
Four of the dead were not from India, he told CNN.
Home Secretary G.K. Pillai told reporters that the explosives were packed in a bag noticed by a waiter at the popular eatery called the German Bakery. The explosion occurred about 7:30 p.m. local time Saturday.
Rajendra Sonawane, joint police commissioner for the city, said the blast struck the German Bakery in Pune's Koregaon Park, sister network CNN-IBN reported.
Initially, authorities thought a cooking gas cylinder had exploded at the bakery, but all cylinders were accounted for, according to CNN-IBN.
An anti-terrorism squad is assisting in the investigation, Chandra Iyengar, home secretary for Maharashtra state, told CNN. However, he wouldn't confirm the blast as a terrorist attack.
The German Bakery is frequented by tourists. It's near the Osho Ashram, a commune founded by the late Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who returned to India from the United States in the 1980s.
Bomb blast kills at least 9 in India
PUNE, India (Reuters) - A bomb ripped through a packed restaurant in the Indian city of Pune on Saturday, killing at least eight people including one foreigner in the country's first big attack since the 2008 Mumbai massacre.
The explosion came a day after India and Pakistan agreed to meet for high-level talks in New Delhi on February 25. New Delhi suspended a four-year-old peace process with Islamabad after the Mumbai attacks, blamed on Pakistani-based militants.
Police said the bomb was hidden in a bag left in the German Bakery restaurant, a favorite of Jewish and European visitors, when it was full of tourists on Saturday evening.
"We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so much that there were tiny body parts everywhere," said Vinod Dhale, an employee at the bakery.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded 32 people. But any sign of Pakistani involvement would worsen relations between the two nuclear rivals and further destabilize a region overshadowed by war in Afghanistan.
"Let us wait for the forensic report before we draw any conclusion," said Home (interior) Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram. "Let us not speculate," he urged reporters and promised that his ministry would issue an official statement on the attack every 4-6 hours.
Debris was strewn all around the bakery, located near an ashram or religious retreat which is also frequented by foreigners, and a Jewish center. The impact of the blast knocked the bakery's sign off, blew out windows and left a large crater inside the restaurant.
"It (the bomb) was under one of the tables ... We transferred lots of people to the ambulances ... there is no German Bakery any more," one foreigner, short of breath and resting against a wall, told local CNN-IBN television.
Police first said that four foreigners were killed but later the state government officials revised this to one.
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