Ever tire of the sameness of Bollywood flicks? Old, tired, unfunny images that give the brain a migraine. Well if you think you can conjure up fresh and invigorating stories then movie channel B4U and website Sulekha.com have just the write solution.

Write Angle is the first of its kind contest open to Indians as well as the global NRI community. Contestants have to send in a 5-page summary of the movie plot in a specified format. The brightest spark gets Rs 200,000 and he will be interviewed on the idiot box.

The two companies will also pay for the trip he makes to see the city of dreams Mumbai where actors like Shah Rukh Khan made a name for themselves. The winning idea will be produced into a feature film or a film for the telly. The aim of the contest is to give aspiring talent a break in the film industry.

The two companies will nurture the idea as well as take care of the financial aspects of the deal. The two companies are hoping that a melting pot of creative ideas will emerge which will shake the industry out of its slumber.

The B4U network of channels are dedicated to films. It claims to reach 15 million households worldwide. Sulekha.com which is the flagship service of US-based Smart Information Worldwide claims to be the biggest online community for Indians. It also helps in raising money for Indian causes abroad. On the site one can buy tickets to events and Indian films in the US. The site claims to be getting hits from Indians living in over 50 countries

The panel of judges for the contest include directors Shyam Benegal (Zubeidaa), Javed Akhtar (Sholay), Santosh Sivan (Asoka, Terrorist) and Mira Nair whose film Monsoon Wedding is scheduled for release on 30 November.

Basically Write Angle is an innovative platform which is looking to tap the obsessive interest Indians not only here by also expat maintain in Bollywood, Internet and the tube. Aspiring writers better hurry as the deadline for submission of entries is 15 February 2002. In May, three people will see their dreams come true out of 15 finalists.

Direct TV which is in the thick of a merger with Echostar is going to see the addition of another satellite to its constellation when an Ariane 4 rocket (Flight 146) launches DirecTV-4S into space (26 November 9:35 pm, French Guiana Time, 27 November morning India time).
A Boeing 601HP satellite, it is the largest of its type built by Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) and will be the sixth Boeing-made satellite launched this year. In all, it will be the 61st Boeing 601 spacecraft launched to date built by Boeing Space and Communications, the world‘s largest satellite manufacturer.

The Ariane 4 rocket that will take the satellite into geostationary orbit at 101 degrees West longitude carries two solid and two liquid strap-on boosters. DirectTV-4S has five antennae, and features highly focused spot beam technology, the first in the DirectTV fleet to have this capability. This technology reuses the same frequencies on multiple spot beams to reach the major television markets where DirecTV delivers the signals of local network affiliates.

The satellite is designed to provide the DirecTV digital satellite television service with more than 300 channels of additional capacity to deliver additional local channels and to strengthen the redundancy of its existing in-orbit fleet of its earlier five satellites.

DirecTV-4S will also be the world‘s first commercial satellite to employ high-efficiency solar arrays with triple-junction gallium arsenide solar cells built by Spectrolab a BSS subsidiary. These solar cells are called triple-junction because they employ a three-layered structure, with each layer able to capture and convert a different portion of the solar spectrum.

The DirecTV-4S solar cells will be able to convert 24.5 percent of the sun‘s energy into electricity. The spacecraft‘s two solar arrays are together designed to deliver 8.3 kilowatts of power at the end of its 15-year design life.

The mission is scheduled to lift off during a 38-minute launch window that opens at 9:35 p.m. local time (7:00 am, IST, 4:35 pm PST, 12:35 am GMT, 27 November) from Arianespace‘s Guiana Space Center on the northeast coast of South America on 26 November.

At least 20 British broadcast, cable, satellite and telecom companies will participate in the eighth Middle East International Cable, Satellite, Broadcast & Telecommunications Exhibition (CABSAT 2002) from 5-7 March.

Organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) at its exhibition complex, CABSAT 2002 will offer a platform for companies and professionals across the world to make inroads into the west Asian market.

Says DWTC international project manager Vijay Menon: "The larger UK presence at the show this year highlights the level of confidence the exhibitors have in the event and the excellent business networking opportunities the show offers in the region."

The UK pavilion at the CABSAT 2002 will include Motorola, one of the world‘s leading mobile phone providers, which recently launched its Global Packet Radio Service (GPRS)-enabled mobile handsets in west Asia and North Africa. The GPRS service with new digital compression techniques enhances data transfer speeds more than ten times as compared to GSM technology.

Encoda Systems will exhibit solutions for programme planning, airtime sales and multi-channel delivery, while Quantel will showcase the latest editing technologies including multi-format, multi-resolution post-production platforms. Rydex/CDT, manufacturers of telecommunication and data network cable for switching, transmission and wireless applications will exhibit their latest protocol and exchange equipment.

168 exhibitors representing 21 countries participated in the exhibition in 2001, attracting 4,500 trade professionals from the region.