August 2007


Nokia had recently issued a product advisory for the Nokia-branded BL-5C battery which have been manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. This product advisory does not apply to any other Nokia-branded battery.The manufacturer  has identified that in very rare cases the Nokia-branded BL-5C batteries subject to the product advisory could potentially experience overheating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge. Nokia is working closely with Matsushita and will be cooperating with relevant authorities to investigate this situation.

Nokia has several suppliers for BL-5C batteries who have collectively produced more than 300 million BL-5C batteries. This advisory applies only to the 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006, from which there have been approximately 100 incidents of overheating reported globally. No serious injuries or property damage have been reported.

Consumers with a BL-5C battery subject to this advisory should note that all of the approximately 100 incidents have occurred while charging the battery. According to Nokia’s knowledge this issue does not affect any other use of the mobile device.

While the occurrences in the BL-5C batteries produced by Matsushita in the time-period specified are very rare, concerned consumers can request a replacement for any BL-5C battery subject to this product advisory.

It is important to note that the BL-5C battery is not used in all Nokia products and that only a portion of the Nokia BL-5C batteries in use are subject to this advisory.

In order to determine if a battery is subject to this advisory, it is necessary to remove the battery from the device. A Nokia battery will have “Nokia” and “BL-5C” printed on the front of the battery. On the reverse, the Nokia mark appears at the top and the battery identification number (consisting of 26 characters) is found at the bottom. Consumers should refer to this identification number to determine if their battery is among the batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. A comparison of that number with those subject to this advisory will determine a consumer’s ability to obtain a replacement free of charge.

The BL-5C is one of 14 different battery models used in Nokia products. As with many of its components, Nokia has a multi-supplier strategy for batteries, including the BL-5C. Matsushita is one of several suppliers of Nokia BL-5C battery.

Product Advisory issued by Nokia for its BL-5C battery that has been manufactured by Matsushita. Now Nokia has gone ahead and is providing further help and assistance to its customers in India. The Finnish mobile giant is offering s string of special services such as SMS, helpline and website – in order to help its customers in the country by quick identification of the BL 5C batteries and subsequent replacements, if required.

Nokia phone users, from the comfort of their home itself, can get in touch with Nokia India using one of the following options:

  • SMS BT <26 character battery identification number> and send to 5555
  • Log on to www.nokia.co.in and enter the 26 character battery identification number
  • Call Nokia Care at 30303838 prefixed by the local STD code if dialing from a mobile number or 080 if dialing from a landline and state the 26 character battery identification number.
  • But our personal advice is that instead of panicking unnecessarily first and foremost any Nokia phone user should check if his or her battery has the BL 5C number at all. If yes, then go ahead and verify your batteries status by following any of the above mentioned options. If the answer is positive, then Nokia guarantees that a new free battery will be delivered at the doorstep by courier, in exchange of the old battery.It’s important to note that Nokia has several suppliers for BL-5C batteries who have jointly developed over 300 million BL-5C batteries. But the advisory that has been issued only and only applies only to the 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006, from which there have been around100 incidents of overheating reported globally. Luckily, no serious injuries or property damage have been reported.
  • Chapter 1

    The Dark Lord Ascending

    The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow,
    moonlit lane. For a second they stood quite still, wands directed
    at each other’s chests; then, recognizing each other , they
    stowed their wands beneath their cloaks and started walking briskly in the
    same direction.
    “News?” asked the taller of the two.
    ”The best,” replied Severus Snape.
    The lane was bordered on the left by wild, low-growing brambles, on the
    right by a high, nearly manicured hedge. The men’s long cloaks flapped around
    their ankles as they marched.
    “Thought I might be late,” said Yaxley, his blunt features sliding in and out
    of sight as the branches of overhanging tress broke the moonlight. “It was
    a little trickier than I expected. But I hope he will be satisfied. You should
    confident that your reception will be good?”
    Snape nodded, but did not elaborate. They turned right, into a wide driveway
    that led off the lane. The high hedge curved into them, running off into the
    distance beyond the pair of impressive wrought-iron gates barring the men’s
    way. Neither of them broke step; In silence both raised their left arms in a
    kind of salute and passed straight through, as though the dark metal weresmoke.
    The yew hedges muffled the sound of the men’s footsteps. There was a
    rustle somewhere to their right; Yaxley drew his wand again, pointing it over
    his companion’s head, but the source of the noise proved to be nothing more
    than a pure-white peacock, strutting majestically along the top of the hedge.
    “He always did himself well, Lucius. Peacocks . . . ” Yaxley thrust his wand
    back under his cloak with a snort.
    A handsome manor house grew out of the darkness at the end of the straight
    drive, lights glinting in the diamond-paned downstairs windows. Somewhere
    in the dark garden beyond the hedge a fountain was playing. Gravel crackled
    beneath their feet as Snape and Yaxley sped toward the front door, which
    swung inward at their approach, though nobody had visibly opened it.
    The hallway was large, dimly light, and sumptuously decorated, with a
    magnificent carpet covering most of the stone floor. The eyes of the pale-faced
    portraits on the walls followed Snape and Yaxley as they strode past. The two
    men halted at a heavy wooden door leading into the next room, hesitated for
    the space of a heartbeat, then Snape turned the bronze handle.
    The drawing room was full of silent people, sitting at a long and ornate
    table. The room’s usual furniture had been pushed carelessly up against the
    walls. Illumination came from a roaring fire beneath a handsome marble mantelpiece
    surmounted by a gilded mirror. Snape and Yaxley lingered for a moment
    on the threshold. As their eyes grew accustomed to the lack of light, they
    were drawn upward to the strangest feature of the scenes an apparently unconscious
    human figure hanging upside down over the table, revolving slowly as
    if suspended by an invisible rope, and reflected in the mirror and in the bare,
    polished surface of the table below it. He seemed unable to prevent himself
    from glancing upward every minute or so.
    “Yaxley, Snape,” said a high, clear voice from the head of the table. “You are
    very nearly late.”
    The speaker was seated directly in front of the fireplace, so that it was diffi-
    cult, at first, for the new arrivals to make out more than his silhouette. As theydrew nearer, however, this face shone through the gloom, hairless, snakelike,
    with slits for nostrils and gleaming red eyes whose pupils were vertical. He
    was so pale that he seemed to emit a pearly glow.
    “Severus, here,” said Voldemort, indication the seat on his immediate right.
    “Yaxley—beside Dolohov.”
    The two men took their allotted places. Most of the eyes around the table
    followed Snape, and it was to him that Voldemort spoke first.
    “So?”
    “My Lord, the Order of the Phoenix intends to move Harry Potter from his
    current place of safety on Saturday next, at nightfall.”
    The interest around the table sharpened palpably; Some stiffened, others
    fidgeted, all gazing at Snape and Voldemort.
    “Saturday . . . at nightfall,” repeated Voldemort. His red eyes fastened upon
    Snape’s black ones with such intensity that some of the watchers looked away,
    apparently fearful that they themselves would be scorched by the ferocity of
    the gaze. Snape, however, looked calmly back into Voldemort’s face and, after a
    moment or two. Voldemort’s lipless mouth curved into something like a smile.
    “Good. very good. And this information comes—”
    “—from the source we discussed,” said Snape.
    “My Lord.”
    Yaxley had leaned forward to look down the long table at Voldemort and
    Snape. All faces turned to him.
    “My Lord, I have heard differently,”
    Yaxley waited but Voldemort did not speak, so he went on, “Dawlish, the
    Auror, let slip that Potter will not be moved until the thirtieth, the night before
    the boy turns seventeen.”
    Snape was smiling,
    “My source told me that there are plans to lay a false trail; this must be it.
    No doubt a Confundus Charm has been placed upon Dawlish. It would not be
    the first time; he is known to be susceptible.”
    “I assure you, my Lord, Dawlish seemed quite certain,” said Yaxley.

    (more…)

    What Love is?

    The story begins like this…

    ‘How long will you be poring over that newspaper? Will you come here right away and make your darling daughter eat her food?’

    I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter Sindu looked frightened. Tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with Curd Rice.

    Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age. She has just turned eight. She particularly detested Curd Rice. My mother and my wife are orthodox, and believe firmly in the ‘cooling effects’ of Curd Rice!

    I cleared my throat, and picked up the bowl. “Sindu, darling, why don’t you take a few mouthful of this Curd Rice? Just for Dad’s sake, dear. And, if you don’t, your Mom will shout at me.’

    I could sense my wife’s scowl behind my back. Sindu softened a bit, and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. ‘OK, Dad. I will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this. But, you should…’ Sindu hesitated. ‘Dad, if I eat this entire Curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?’

    ‘Oh sure, darling’.

    ‘Promise?’

    ‘Promise’. I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine, and clinched the deal.

    ‘Ask Mom also to give a similar promise’, my daughter insisted. My wife slapped her hand on sindu’s, muttering ‘Promise’, without any emotion.

    Now I became a bit anxious. ‘Sindumma, you shouldn’t insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not have that kind of money right now. OK?’

    ‘No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive’. Slowly and painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity. I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child eat something that she detested.

    After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All our attention was on her. ‘Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!’ was her demand!

    ‘Atrocious!’ shouted my wife, ‘a girl child having her head shaved off? Impossible!’ .

    ‘Never in our family!’ my mother rasped. ‘She has been watching too much of television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV programs!’

    ‘Sindumma, why don’t you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head.’

    ‘No, Dad. I do not want anything else’, Sindu said with finality.

    ‘Please, Sindu, why don’t you try to understand our feelings?’ I tried to plead with her.

    ‘Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice’. Sindu was in tears. ‘And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for. Now, you are going back on your words. Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra, and its moral that we should honour our promises no matter what?’

    It was time for me to call the shots. ‘Our promise must be kept.’

    ‘Are you out your mind?’ chorused my mother and wife.

    ‘No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honour her own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled.’

    With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big & beautiful.

    On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around and waved. I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and shouted, ‘Sinduja, please wait for me!’

    What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. ‘May be, that is the in-stuff’, I thought.

    ‘Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!’ Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car, and continued, ‘That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish. He is suffering from … leukaemia.’

    She paused to muffle her sobs. ‘Harish could not attend the school for the whole of the last month. He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates. Sinduja visited him last week, and promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue. But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son! Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter.’

    I stood transfixed. And then, I wept. ‘My little Angel, will you grant me a boon? Should there be another birth for me, will you be my mother, and teach me what Love is?’

    So many emoticons, so little time. The entries are all in and all voted for in the Yahoo! Emoticontest 07. Here is the top 10 most-voted for pictures… Never know, one of these could end up being your favourite emoticon!

    The Current list of Most Voted and Most Liked Emoticons is as follows !!!!

    Who’ll break the ice?

    santa singh

    ohhhhh! don’t attack?

    Dolphin Smile

    Yeah, I did it.

    teeeeeeeeeaaassse

    stunned

    namaste india

    V for victory!

    Gossip!!

    Tom Kynge, aged 12

    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is by far better than all the previous Harry Potter books. Shorter than some of the others, it provides an extremely good read with thrilling content, and ends the series satisfyingly. The book starts very slowly and gradually speeds up with suspense as Harry begins to unravel secrets about Lord Voldemort’s dark magic. You won’t be able to imagine the secrets revealed. I was tempted to walk down to the bookshop and scream the ending out!

    My favourite section of the book is where the armies of Voldemort go to war with Dumbledore’s forces. The book builds up to a dramatic finish. Put it this way - a violent showdown is on the cards!

    Rosa Davidson, aged 18

    The beginning does not disappoint, opening as the past three books have, in a mysterious, location, with no sign of Harry or his friends. What struck me is how dark the writing has become, much more for older readers, far from the light-hearted adventures in the first three books.

    JK Rowling’s narrative has become an emotional rollercoaster. One minute you are laughing out loud, the next crying or being terrified at the prospect of an important character dying. And then there’s the ending. Will Harry live or die? The book deals with this pressure incredibly well, taunting the reader with the anticipation, and still managing to tie up all loose ends nicely. A brilliant end by a brilliant author to the most brilliant series of books ever written, in my opinion.

    Charlie Kerr, aged 11

    This book is very well written and keeps you gripped. It has far more darkness, death and danger than the other books, though that’s not actually a good thing. I preferred the happy magic, like chocolate frogs and clever spells that you got in the earlier books when Harry was enjoying things more and there were more school scenes. This book has more secrets and riddles.

    Ron, Hermione and Harry have left Hogwarts to hunt the Horcruxes, magical objects that contain bits of Voldemort’s soul. The plot can be hard to understand. There are fast action scenes which make your heart pump. You can feel Harry’s pain and how he suffers. It will make a great film.

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