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I won’t go over all the details regarding Michael Jackson‘s death because you’d already heard it all. Instead I’ll share the tidbits from the life of the star, a legend, the King of Pop. It is a tribute to the world’s best dance and singer.

Michael Jackson’s death at 50 has brought a lot of shock to the masses. It all started when Michael Jackson collapsed at his Holmby Hills in LA, California due to a cardiac arrest. Michael Jackson died at the UCLA Medical Center.

To call him a celebrity is an understatement. He was iconic. If someone asked me which singer or dancer I liked – it was always Michael Jackson. A son of a steelworker this black kid from a US neighborhood gained attention at a very earrly age through his Jackson 5 band.

Michael Jackson Top 10 favorite videos

1. Thriller
2. Bad
3. Scream
4. Heal the World
5. Jam
6. Beat it
7. They don’t really care about us
8. Billy Jean
9. Black or White
10. Smooth Criminal

Michael Jackson timeline

Aug 29,1958 Michael Joseph Jackson is born is Gary, Indiana and industrial suburb of Chicago. Michael Jackson is the seventh child of Joseph and Katherine Jackson. Katherine teacher her kids how to sing while father Joseph, a crane operator is a guitarist in a local group – Falcons.

1963 The brothers having inherited music from their parents form a band. Michael is just 5 years old. He and his brother perform together while their father manages.

1968 Motown Records signs Jackson 5 and the Jackson family moves to Los Angeles. It’s first single “I Want You Back” is an instant hit – released in November 1969.

1970 Jackson 5 continues to churn out no. 1 pop hits including “ABC”, “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There.” Michael is 11 and already a lead vocalist and a growing superstar.

1975 Jackson 5 leaves Motown Records for Epic Records and changes name to Jacksons. Continues to enjoy success with songs such as “Enjoy Yourself” and “Shake Your Body”.

1979 Michael Jackson’s first solo album is released with Epic Records, “Off the Wall”. Produced by Quincy Jones, it sells more than 7 million copies.

1982 Jackson establishes himself as a undeniable superstar with the release of the second solo album, “Thriller.” The songs “Billie Jean” and Beat It” catapult the album to the top music charts. Becomes best-selling album of all time.

1984 “Thriller” is nominated for 11 Grammys and wins 8 of them. The album is certified 20 times platinum.

1987 By now, Jackson has already become the “King of Pop”. Still continues to dominate the ripe music industry. His 3rd album “Bad” goes platinum 4 times. Michael Jackson sets a record for most No.1 singles by a solo artist on 1 album.

1991 Michael Jackson released his 4th album “Dangerous” with Teddy Riley instead of Quincy Jones. Sells more than 20 million copies but is a dropoff compared to “Bad” and “Thriller”. His 11-minute video “Black or White” ?debuts on Fox and gives the network its highest Nielsen rating ever at the time.

Feb 1993 Jackson appears on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and explains his changing skin color is due to a skin disease called vitiligo. Also reveals that he is afraid of his father because his father beat him as a child. Also tell that he would get so scared that he’d get sick.

Aug 1993 A 13-year-od boy whom Jackson accusses Jackson of sexually molesting him repeatedly over 5 months at jackson’s Neverland Ranch in Encino, California. The boy revealed that Jackson bathed with him, share a bed with him, gave him gifts and trips and fondled him. Jackson denies any wrongdoing. A civil lawsuit is filed a month later again Michael Jackson.

Nov 12, 1993 Jackson cancels his world concert tour citing addiciton to painkillers and need for treatment. he says he became addicted to painkillers after scalp reconstruction surgery, a procedure needed after his hair caught fire during a shoot for Pepsi commercial in 1984.

Jan 25, 1994 Pays around $20 million to settle the civil lawsuit. Criminal charges not filed.

May 18, 1994 Michael Jackson marries Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley. The couple make headlines for their on-stage kiss at MTV Music Awards.

1995 Releases the album HIStory:Past, Present, Future Book 1.

Jan 18, 1996 Jackson and Presley divorce after less than 2 years of marriage.

Nov 15, 1996 Michael jackson marries nurse Debbie Rowe. The couple has 2 kids – Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr. and Paris Michael Katherine.

Oct 8,1999 Michael and Rowe get divorced. Jackson retains full custody of kids in the settlement.

2001 Jackson is inducted in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Nov 2002 Jackson is heavily criticized for dangling his 2nd son Prince Michael II over the edge of a 4th floor balcony to show to fans. Later tells Jet magazine that he made a terrible mistake.

Nov. 20, 2003 Taken into custody by the Santa Barbara County Sherriff’s Department on charges of child molestation. He posts a three million dollar bail.

June 2005 A jury finds Michael Jackson of not being guilty on all 10 counts.

March 16, 2006 Jackson’s Neverland ranch is closed down by California government.

Oct 2006 Jackson settles lawsuit filed by former wife Debbie Rowe by paying an undisclosed lump sum possibly into millions.

March 5, 2009 Michael announces that he will be performing atleast 10 times in July at London’s O2 arena. Says they’ll be the last of his career.

May 10, 2009 Some of the London concerts are postponed “due to sheer magnitude” of the events.

Jun 25, 2009 lt. Fred Corral od the LA Coroner’s Office confirms that Jackson is dead after suffering sudden cardiac arrest.

The timeline shows the rise and fall of a icon. An icon which entertained the generations through his music and unbelievable dance moves.

If you wanna pay a tribute please do it in comments below.

More Sources

1. Michael Jackson, pop music legend, dead at 50 – CNN
2. Michael Jackson Timeline – Twoop
3. A Tribute to My Friend, Michael Jackson by Deepak Chopra in a letter to Huffington Post
4. Michael Jackson’s 911 call screenshot – by Wall Street Manna

In the last article I shared with you the status of the global recession. It showed that the United Stated was one of the most affected country due to the recession.It seems that two thirds (2/3) or 66% of Indiana’s counties had double-digitunemployment rates in the last month.

The unemployment rate when adjusted top seasonal unemployment reached 10.6%.It means that every 1 in 10 people in Indiana are unemployed right now! State of Indiana isjust 2% away from its November 1982 unemployment peak when it was 12.8%. The data was released by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. The departments website also lets you information regarding job openings, news updates and employment services too. You can also visit http://www.in.gov/dwd for information on job matching, filing unemployment, business lookupand also post jobs if you’re an employer.

It also has an unemployment insurance online system called Uplink located at http://uplink.in.gov

You can also qualify for this kit if you believe that you are affected by the recession.

Global Recession Map (click to enlarge)

The Global Recession has affected everyone in one way or the other. Layoffs, decline in business, plummeting GDP and real-estate taking a nosedive. While, it is being predicted that the recession might slow down by next year until that happens you can see a heatmap of the countries hit hard by the recession.

See the Global Recession heatmap

As can be seen from the map, the countries that have been hit most are the United States, Canada and Mexico in North America.

While in South America it is Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Ecuador have been the most affected due to the Global Recession.

The map shows that almost all of the Europe is under severe attack of the recession.

In Asia, the Russian Federation is the largest country taking a blow of the recession while China and India – the 2 developing countries are the least hit by the recession.

Africa which isn’t much developed has been the least affected of all the continents. The only high-income country in Africas hit by the recession is South-Africa.

By looking at the graph, we can infere that the countries that are most affected have been the developed countries while developing nations like India and China have been the least affected as compared to other countries.

E71 looks so good in Silver

If you want simplicity with powerful Smartphone features then you’re in for a treat! Nokia E71 is a more simple approach to the Smartphone market – it is loaded with all the features you would need and some more. Nokia is usually known for its simple yet long-lasting features and this has made the E71 an immediate hit among users that want entertainment to go with business.

One of the first Nokia phones to feature a QWERTY keyboard – the E71 is sure to charm anyone with its astonishingly good looks. And more unexpected is that it comes from Nokia which is known to make anti-slim phones. I’ve used a Nokia N80 – so ask me!

One thing that made me disappoint ?is Nokia E71′s lack of touch-screen which should have been incorporated into it. Come on Nokia, every phone now a days has a multi-touch! But it doesn’t hurt much thanks to the nicely laid out QWERTY keyboard which is so easy to use.

The Nokia E71 is equipped with a comparatively better camera than what Nokia users are used to – a ?generous 3.2 megapixel camera. Even though a 3.2 megapixel camera is good it could have been better with camera optics.

As far as image and video quality is concerned the Nokia E71 will satisfy your inner photographer because you can take pictures and videos in a variety of light situations.

Nokia recently unveiled its own app store, Ovi and you can use Ovi to upload and share your pictures and videos you take from your Nokia E71.

One thing that stood out was the quality of the hardware, I mean it just feels like a piece of art and you can mistake it as something from Apple. Nokia has done a great job at designing a phone that’d suit everyone from BlackBerry users to iPhone freaks and perhaps people who demand more (simplicity)!

The E71 comes with 2 customizable home screens – one for entertainment (pictures, MP3′s and videos) and other for your business (Word, Powerpoint and Adobe PDF Reader). Now you don’t have to worry mixing everything into one! You can just toggle the screens easily ?through the menu.

I quickly realized that I liked E71 keyboard more than I did of the iPhone. Firstly, it is easier getting used to the E71 keyboard and there’s not much room for typos as it is with iPhone.

Nokia E71 Battery Life

Nokia has always been popular due to the sturdy and long-lasting nature of its batteries. Everything being same I’d choose a Nokia any given day due to the fact that Nokia batteries last longer than any other phone I’ve seen so far. When it comes to battery Nokia E71 is no exception. You can expect a good long battery life and moderate use of the phone can easily last you a good 3-day battery life! Well, my BlackBerry gives approximately 4-day battery life when I ain’t pounding on its keyboard and approximately a little more than 2 days if I am using it as I’d normally would.

Never get lost, again!

With a built-in GPS you can be sure that you don’t get lost. The GPS antenna is placed over the top of the Nokia E71 and so the reception is pretty good and almost perfect.

Store What you need and How much you need

I am a sucker for a good amount of external storage even if I don’t use much of it. And if you want a lot of storage space too then E71 gives you just that – an external 8GB microSD slot. It is very easy to access and gives you a lot of space to work with – you don’t have to worry about your pics and vids anymore – atleast quite a few days!

One of the better pleasures of using the E71 is that the screen is easy-to-read even in sunlight – a thing a lot of phone manufactures can learn. E71 is quick with its OS and has nicely made use of pleasing graphics.

The E71 comes in 2 colors – Silver and Black. Silver is classy while Black oozes style – I personally prefer Silver.

There are a lot of apps for E71 but I’d leave that for another article.

Are you thinking of buying an E71? Do you have one? What’s your take on this masterpiece from Nokia? Any and all comments are really appreciated!

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Zune HD isn’t too far. Microsoft announced on the 26th of May that it’ll be releasing a new version of Zune called Zune HD loaded with lots of features and much expected improvement over the previos Zune.

Zune HD will be released this fall and ?it sure did raise a few eye-brows when pictures of the new Zune HD were leaked all over the Internet. A lot of experts are speculating that with the release of the Zune HD this fall Microsoft will capture a good share of the music player market. That only means some stiff competition for Apple iPod Touch, the most popular music player in the market.

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The all new Zune HD

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Features of the new Zune HD

Zune HD will be multi-tpuch. Now you can navigate to your content using your touch! I own a Zune 8 and it has a touch-sensitive Zune pad which I like very much. But being able to touch the screen and navigate is something which is better. You get a 3.3 inch screen and a 16:9 OLED (Organic Light Emmitting Diode) display with a 480×272 resolution. Inshort, you’ll eperience what you have never before!

HD Radio on Zune?

Radio has been the forte of Zune so much that iPod hasn’t been able to replicate that into the iPods as yet. You have to separately purchase an enhancement for to connect the radio stations on the iPods. With the Zune HD you can tune into your favorite radio stations and listen with crystal-clear reception. No audio sidtrotion whatsoever! Thanks to the integrated HD radio reciever you can tune into HD radio stations for FREE! Note: You can also tag the songs you hear on the radio for later purchase which is quite cool.

Zune HD comes with a built-in Web Browser

The Zune HD comes with a built-in web browser. Now you can surf the web anytime ,anywhere where there is a WiFi connection. You can even utilize the touchscreen QWERTY keyboard for faster typing. For faster browsing there is a built-in accelerometer. And guess what? Now you can play flash movies on the Zune HD! Because the web browser supported by Zune HD is Internet Explorer you can play whatever is supported by IE.

The heart of Zune HD – High-Definition videos

You can watch 720p high-definition movies, TV shows and videos on your HDTV through Zune HD & AV dock (available for purchase separately).?

While not many details have surface like for what cost it’ll be sold? What’ll be the CPU performanca, it still looks pretty good so far. I’ll keep you updated as and when I get all these details.

What do you think about Zune HD? Do you like it? Will you be buying it? Let us know in the comments.

As the 20th aniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre is approaching the unjustifiable actions of the Chinese Government are on the rise too. A lot of Daily Pandora readers from China have contacted me and confirmed that some of the most popular social media sites have been inaccessible since June 4th.

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Most of the sites are powerful mass-communication tools and the Communist Chinese government doesn’t want the history to repeat in which groups of students and intellectuals led demonstartions against the oppressive Chinese rule and which led to the collapse of a number of communist governements around the world.

The list is surprising as on of the services blocked (Bing.com) was not even officially launched! And besides its just another search engine – like Google!

The Chinese government doesn’t publish the list of censored websites but thats not very difficult if you want to really find out. Some of the popular services that our Chinese readers might miss for a prolonged times are Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Blogger, Bing.com, Hotmail, Microsoft ‘s Live Services and even some online forums and colleges and University affiliated communities.

In these modern times when China has become a hub for international business taking such steps will only retaliate people from doing business with China and may even hinder China’s chances against ts competitors.

This is not the first time the Chinese government has blocked access to social media sites. China blocked access to YouTube this past March. History repeats itself.

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image courtesy:?za3tooor