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The World’s Most Expensive Hotel Rooms: Prepare to Max Out Your Credit Card

2008-07-02T02:15:00.004+07:00

If you thought booking a deluxe suite has gotten pricey, hold on to your hat. Some of the world’s most luxurious hotel suites are going for tens of thousands of dollars per night. So fire up your private jet, pack your Louis Vuitton bags, and get ready for an over-the-top stay.

Hotel Martinez Presidential Suite, Cannes, France
Certainly most U.S. Presidents haven’t even experienced the level of luxury of the Penthouse Suite at the Hotel Martinez in Cannes, France—and it can be yours for the bargain price of 12,000 to 34,000 Euros during the high season (that’s about $53,000). Clocking in at a massive 10,700 square feet, the Art Deco-inspired suite (which can be split into two apartments) offers a Jacuzzi on a private terrace, four bedrooms, four bathrooms equipped with Whirlpool baths and Turkish baths/showers, an open bar and two saunas. And in case anything is amiss, you’ll also have a butler at your disposal 24 hours a day.

Palms Resort Hugh Hefner Sky Villa, Las Vegas, NV
Get ready to don your red smoking jacket and slippers: Even if you can’t party at the Playboy Mansion, you can stay in the lavish Hugh Hefner Sky Villa at the Palms, featuring Playboy artwork selected by Hef himself. For $40,000 a night, you’ll have an outdoor terrace overlooking the lights of Vegas with a cantilevered Jacuzzi tub, a personal massage room, workout room, dry sauna and more. Oh, and there’s also an eight-foot round, rotating bed with mirrored ceiling, in case you’re thinking of living out any of those Playboy fantasies.

Four Seasons New York Ty Warner Penthouse, New York, NY
Forget the view from the Empire State Building. This lavishly appointed Four Seasons suite’s floor-to-ceiling bay windows offer a sweeping 360-degree view of all of Manhattan. For $30,000 a night, guests can enjoy the view, as well as living and dining areas, a library illuminated by a gilded bronze LaLanne chandelier, an infinity-edge bathtub, a master bedroom with a gold-threaded Thai canopy bed, an indoor-outdoor Zen garden and a private spa room. Should you want to leave the suite, you’ll also have access to a private chauffeur in your choice of a Rolls Royce Phantom or Mercedes Maybach. Decisions, decisions.

President Wilson Hotel Royal Penthouse Suite, Geneva, Switzerland
In case you’re thinking of entertaining while you’re away, the mahogany dining table at this $37,000 per night suite at the President Wilson can seat 26 people. The suite, reached by private elevator, also boasts a cocktail lounge, a library and billiards room, along with four bedrooms that all overlook serene Lake Geneva. If you’re concerned about security, all of the windows and doors are bullet-proof to ensure maximum safety.

Grand Resort Lagonissi Royal Villa, Attica, Greece
This gorgeous resort villa at the Lagonissi, going for about $35,000 a night, on the Aegean Sea is a swimmer and sunbather’s paradise. It not only features a private indoor pool equipped with a gym and workout area, but an outdoor pool as well (accessible by an open living and dining area). And did we mention the private marina and private beach? Guests at the Royal Villa can relax in one of two master bedrooms, a bar area or a private massage room. There’s even a full business center (not that you’ll want to do any work).

(taken from: here)

World's most expensive toy car

2008-07-02T02:01:00.003+07:00

It's the perfect toy for the boy who has everything: a diamond encrusted model car billed as the most expensive in the world.

Toy makers Hot Wheels unveiled the car, made to commemorate the production of its four-billionth "vehicle", at the 105th American International Toy Fair in NewYork.

Valued at US$140,000 (£71,187) - a figure that would normally buy six family cars - the model is cast in 18-karat white gold and covered in blue, white and black diamonds. It has rubies set into its tail lights and even the car's case comes with 40 white diamonds.

Designed by celebrity jeweller Jason of Beverly Hills, the vehicle's bonnet can be lifted to reveal more jewels encrusting a miniature engine.

The 1:64 scale car will be auctioned later this year, with proceeds going to the charity Big Brothers Big Sisters.

"Since its introduction, Hot Wheels has revolutionized boys' toys and inspired automotive trends,” said Tim Kilpin, general manager and senior vice president, Boys and Entertainment, Mattel Brands.

"The historic activities we have planned are a fitting tribute to the brand's heritage and will allow us, and our fans, to celebrate this milestone year in true Hot Wheels style."

(taken from: here)

Chinese Man Pierced 2008 Times for Upcoming Olympics

2008-06-12T01:09:00.001+07:00

China has been buzzing with anticipation for the 2008 Olympics this summer. From putting up sexy Olympic street lights to naming 3,500 babies after the event, you can definitely feel the pride and excitement for the coming games.

Wei, a 60 year-old Chinese acupuncturist from Guangxi province, showed his patriotism for the upcoming Olympics by piercing his head, face, chest, and arms with 2008 decorative needles in five different colors.

The event broke his previous Guinness Record of 1790 needles set in 2004. Wei also hopes to share more about the history of acupuncture to the world.

Initially inspired after reading about a Canadian who had set a record for inserting 420 needles in his arm, Wei felt that it was “not much compared to our centuries-old acupuncture,” and began experimenting with piercing his own body with needles.

On January 13, 2007, Wei had also paraded through town with 800 needles in his forehead and even put on skates and skated around the streets to show he was not in pain and alright.

(taken from: here)

Dubai tower reaches 630 m to become world's tallest structure

2008-06-12T00:55:00.003+07:00

Burj Dubai, a skyscraper under construction in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, has reached 630 meters (2,066 feet) to become the world's tallest man-made structure, Al-Ittihad newspaper said on Tuesday.

Mohammed Ali Alabbar, chairman of state-owned development company Emaar - one of the builders of the tower - was quoted by the paper as saying the building is now higher than the 628.8-meter (2,063-foot) television transmission mast in North Dakota, U.S. The mast had held the title of highest structure for 45 years.

Alabbar said the $1 billion tower, designed by the U.S.-based Scidmore, Owings and Merill, already has 160 floors. The planned final height of the building has been kept secret.

When completed, the skyscraper in the heart of Dubai will feature 56 elevators, luxury apartments, boutiques, swimming pools, spas, exclusive corporate suites, a hotel, and an observation platform.

The deadline for the project carried out by a consortium led by South Korea's Samsung, has been postponed by four months from the end of 2008.

Alabbar said Christmas parties would not take place in the tower as was earlier planned. However, next year Burj will meet all criteria to become the world's tallest building, in terms of room space, the highest occupied floor, the roof's top, the spire's tip, antenna length, etc.

Burj will surpass Taiwan's Taipei 101, which has held the record at 508 meters (1,667 feet) since 2004.

Earlier reports said more than 5,000 engineers and laborers are employed in the project. Some 330,000 cubic meters of cement and 39,000 metric tons of reinforced steel will be used in the construction and over 140,000 sq m of glass will be used for the facade.

(taken from: here)

Indonesia Diving, Raja Ampat Island "The incredible reef and fish"

2008-06-11T22:12:00.005+07:00

No doubt about it, the Raja Ampat is definitely the richest place for fish, that I have ever been. Dr G.R.Allen

"I was like a five-year-old, seeing a reef for the very first time. I was awestruck, held by the incredible power of this richest reef. We must, with all available resources, preserve the beauty of Raja Ampat. This may be the last frontier." Michael Aw

"I love the people, I love the diving, It's super!! I've never been for a second time to the same dive destination but now I'm thinking about going back for the third time!! Should I say more?" Peter van Dalen
(Taken from www.iriandive.com)

Raja Ampat Island is the most western district of the Indonesian province of Papua. Raja Ampat consists of an area surrounding four major island off the western coast of Birds Head Panisula of New Guinea Island. The western half of which is Indonesia and the eastern half, Papua New Guinea. The province was called Irian Jaya, and its a cluster of over 1500 small Islands.

Raja Ampat is the most bio-diverse location in the world more than 3000 species of fishes and over 300 species of corals have been identified here, in a single one and half hour dive you can identified more than 282 fish species and more than 400 species. Till this very day the area is virtually unexplored and unknown due to its size. This area as there are still many remnants of WW II.

The Roughest seas and decreased visibility in the Raja Ampat area are from mid-June until the end of August. During the rest of the year, the sea is mostly very smooth whit good visibility.

Dive sites in Raja Ampat Island:

Kri Island: Kri has several sites and Cape Kri is one of the fishiest. The fish numbers and variety are truly amazing. The site is current dependent. Generally it's a steep slope with beautiful coral growth, lots of reef and schooling fishes, including the giant Queensland Grouper.
Sardine Reef: Sardine Reef has really giant clams at 10m (33ft) but it's all about non-stop fishes here. There's a resident school of bumphead parrotfish in the shallows, colorful soft corals and plenty of critters.
Kaboei Bay Rock Islands: The bay is a labyrinth of rock islands. Visibility isn't great but this is a great place for macro and finding odd nudibranches, mollusks and the pictured dragonet. Bat caves and skeletons are found on some of the islands.
The Passage: This is a drift dive through a narrow channel near Waigeo. Look for archerfish among the mangroves, orange cup corals, seahorses, and percula clownfish.
Fam Island: Several sites near Fam have stunning coral growth. Sponges and soft corals add color and fishes keep it going. Sites include walls, sloping reefs, and muddy bays.
Misool: Misool is awash in fish life and huge sea fans. Caverns and boulders mark several sites. The schooling fishes seem endless and pygmy seahorses live in less than 10m (33ft). Some sites are current dependent.

At a Glance Irian Diving

Reef type: Vertical walls, Lagoon channels, caves, platform reefs, etc.
Access: By boat from base camps.
Visibility: Very good, 20-45 meters.
Current: Moderate, excellent for drift diving.
Coral: Excellent " abundant & divers.
Fish: Variety & abundance guaranteed.
Highlights: Snorkeling with dolphins near the Wai base camp (5m); White-tip sharks under P47B wing; finding new wrecks untouched/complete.

It is easiest to fly through to Sorong via Jakarta or via Singapore. Merpati, Pelita and Lion/Wings Airlines operate daily flights from Jakarta to Sorong (with stopovers in Ujung Pandang/Makassar and/or Manado), whereas Silk Air operates regularly from Singapore to Manado. Daily flights to and from Sorong by Airlines Merpati, Lion/Wings or Pelita.

Raja Ampat Island have several accommodations whit traditional design, and there many boat you can rent for a stay. If you using dive operator they will arrange for your base came.

Raja Ampat islands have a very diverse topography with steep mountain shores and deserted white sand beaches. Explore the land on foot. Use a boat to move from one dive site to another dive site.

There are several restaurants and cafes throughout Sorong. Try their specialties: traditional irian foods!

There are many traditional souvenirs made from wood.

You can visit gorgeous waterfalls, ancient burial sites, bat caves and stunning waterways breathtaking limestone landscapes and Manta ray spotting and bird watching.

To enter Papua itself, you need a surat jalan (Travel Permit) which is issued by the local police. Please bring: 3 Passport Photos, 3 Copies of the photo page of your passport and 3 Copies of the passport page with the Indonesian Visa.
Guide Book : Diving Indonesia (a guide to the world's greatest diving), Periplus Action Guide, Kal Muller.More Information about Irian Jaya Dive, contact: Sorong, Indonesia Office: Papua Diving. Phone: +62 (411) 401 660, Fax: +62 (951) 325 274. www.Iriandiving.com

(taken from: here)

The Flight of Dragonfly Robots

2008-06-11T21:54:00.003+07:00

One day, the U.S. military hopes to use tiny flying robots, equipped with cameras and sensors, for surveillance. But such robots would need to be able to navigate around obstacles, carry weight, and be efficient enough to fly for long periods of time. A group of researchers believe that the key to making such a robot might lie in the dragonfly.

Dragonflies are one of few creatures that utilize four independently controlled wings to fly, allowing them to hover, dart, glide, move backward, and change directions rapidly. Looking to understand such abilities, scientists at the Royal Veterinary College, in England, and the University of Ulm, in Germany, have developed a robotic dragonfly to measure the current flows over and under the wings at different flap cycles. While most of the dragonfly hovering scenarios were not efficient, the team found that if the lower wings are beating slightly ahead of the top wings, the double set of wings proves more efficient at generating lift, employing 22 percent less power to lift the same weight as a single pair.

"The one specific advantage you get in four wings is the maneuverability and ability to pick things out of the air and hover and dart around," says Jonathan How, a professor at MIT who works on flying robots but was not involved in the dragonfly project. "It would be really amazing if we could build something that got anywhere near that level of performance. If you can achieve the same lift at a lower power, that's helpful."

Despite their potential advantages, small flying robots that mimic dragonflies' agility have not been successfully made, in part because of the complexity of the aerodynamics around four wings, and also because of fabrication issues involved with small flying machines. However, studies of wing motion and air forces that reveal how dragonflies achieve their agility may enable roboticists to eventually build capable, swift flyers that use four wings.

To measure the air currents, the Ulm researchers immersed the robotic dragonfly in a tank filled with mineral oil and peppered with air bubbles. Two green lasers combined and reflected off the air bubbles as a high-speed camera took images 10 to 20 milliseconds apart. By comparing images, the scientists calculated the direction of flow for regions within the tank.

In terms of four-wing versus two-wing systems for a biomimetic micro air vehicle, "it's a trade-off," says Fritz-Olaf Lehmann, a researcher at the University of Ulm who worked on the study. With a four-wing system, the disadvantages are the need for an extra control system and extra power. However, a system with two wings must incorporate ways to change the angle, amplitude, and frequency of the wings flapping to change lift, says Lehmann. Conversely, with four wings, "you can just advance one flight system against the other, and then you change lift production," he says. "I think that makes building a micro air vehicle much easier."

In creating an autonomous micro air vehicle, "every little bit of efficiency counts," says Robert Wood, a professor at Harvard University who has developed some of the smallest flying robots. "You could make the argument that if you have a four-winged vehicle, you'll have more [control] to assist you in stabilization," he says.

Michael Dickinson, a professor at Caltech who works on understanding and mimicking fly flight, says that interest in dragonflies is growing and that the Lehmann paper is not the first containing this kind of analysis but "one in a floodgate of papers." While the study might add to the understanding of the subtle aerodynamics of four-winged flight, Dickinson points out that researchers must still develop a better, lighter battery that powers the vehicle and makes an effective control system.

(taken from: here)

Apple Updates iPhone, Slashes Price

2008-06-10T21:58:00.003+07:00

Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, confirms rumors that a cheaper iPhone with GPS will be available in July.

As at any Apple event, attendees of the World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco showed up on Monday expecting to be awed by a Steve Jobs Show. And judging from the elevated mood in the room immediately after the Apple CEO's presentation, they were. The biggest technical news, which was widely predicted, is that the new iPhone, available July 11, will operate over so-called 3G networks, which are many times faster than the EDGE networks that the iPhone currently uses. Also confirmed was the rumor of GPS for real-time location tracking on the iPhone. But perhaps the most crowd-pleasing announcement is the dramatic price cut: from $399 for an eight-gigabyte model to $199. A 16-gigabyte model will be $299 and available in black and white.

When the iPhone was introduced last June, some analysts predicted that consumers would reject it because of its hefty price tag and its reliance on AT&T's relatively slow network. Since the phone's release, roughly six million iPhones have been sold to people who have looked past sluggish downloads and fallen in love with the gadget's intuitive touch interface and impressive graphics. But the difference between the EDGE and 3G networks can be startling. During Jobs's presentation, he contrasted the two versions of the phone. It takes 59 seconds for the current phone to load a Web page with heavy graphics. On the new 3G phone, the same page loads in 21 seconds. By comparison, it takes 17 seconds on a Wi-Fi network. E-mail applications download 3.6 percent faster.

By adding GPS, Apple has taken an important step toward expanding location-based services--tools that people use to find friends and activities around them in real time. Today's iPhone has the ability to locate itself, within a relatively large radius, using signals from cell-phone towers and Wi-Fi stations. GPS takes it a step farther, pinpointing location down to a couple of meters. This enables real-time tracking, making the iPhone a useful in-car navigation tool.

Jobs also provided an update of the third-party software, available in the forthcoming iPhone application store, and updates on the phone's compatibility with enterprise software. As announced in March, the iPhone will support Microsoft Exchange, providing compatibility with Outlook's mail, contacts, and calendar. The iPhone will also support Apple's iWork collection of productivity software, as well as Microsoft Office. And importantly, it will include the security features that have convinced enterprise customers--including the U.S. military and a number of Fortune 500 companies, law firms, and pharmaceutical companies--that the iPhone is as secure as any mobile device.

Since March, when the iPhone software developer kit was launched, a number of third-party companies and individual programmers have been racing to develop applications that run on the phone. At the conference, Apple highlighted a handful. Game developers are excited about the potential for using the built-in accelerometers as game controllers, and Sega showed off its Super Monkey Ball game. Loopt, a location-based startup that has previously only run on Sprint and Boost Mobile phones, demonstrated how a person using its service could find nearby friends. Typepad, a popular blogging tool, will offer software that enables easy mobile blogging on the iPhone.

In addition to the iPhone upgrades and previews of third-party software, Apple announced that it has revamped its .Mac service, a $99 a year service that provides e-mail, a Web page, and syncing options. It has been rebranded into MobileMe and will enable mail, calendar updates, and address-book changes to stay constantly synchronized over all Macs, PCs, and iPhones. This move illustrates that Apple is finally ready to recognize the importance of cloud computing, famously the province of Google and other Internet companies. However, since it's a pay service, it's unclear how much traction Apple will see as it competes with popular free services such as Gmail and Yahoo's Flickr.

As with all Steve Jobs keynotes, bullet points were big, and technical details were scarce. However, in the coming weeks, and after the iPhone's release on July 11, more information is expected to emerge. Some experts were predicting an upgrade to the phone's camera, but on Monday, there was no mention of a camera update or added video capabilities.

(taken from: here)

10 Must-Try Exotic Fruits

2008-06-10T21:37:00.005+07:00

Traveling to an exotic destination is not just about swimming in the turquoise waters or sunbathing. You also have to taste some of the cuisine and sample some of the exotic fruits of the place. For those hot summers when you need something refreshing, we have collected 10 tropical fruits you absolutely must try.

1. Rambutan
Native to Malay Archipelago, Southeast Asia
Coming from an evergreen tree, the Rambutan fruit resembles the Lychees, have a leathery red skin and are covered with spines. Rambutan is a popular garden fruit tree and one of the most famous in Southeast Asia. The fruit is sweet and juicy, being commonly found in jams or available canned.

2. Jackfruit
Native to southwestern India, Bangladesh, Philippines and Sri Lanka
Jackfruit is a common fruit for Asia and Australia and considered as one of the largest tree borne fruit in the world. The juicy pulp around the seeds have a taste similar to pineapple, but milder. Apart from canned jackfruit, it is also available as sweet chips. The wood of the tree is used for making various musical instruments, while the fruit is a common ingredient for many Asian dishes.

3. Passion Fruit
Native to South America, grown in India, New Zealand, Brazil, etc
The passion fruit has a soft, juicy interior full of seeds, being commonly found in juices to boost their flavors. There are two types of passion fruit: the golden one (maracuyá), similar to a grapefruit and the dark purple passion fruit (gulupa), comparable in terms of size with a lemon. However, the ladder ones have been reported as being mildly poisonous.

4. Lychee
Native to southern China, found in India, Taiwan
Coming from an evergreen tree, the lychee or litchi are small white flesh fruits, covered in a red rind, rich in vitamin C and with a grape-like texture. The fruit has started making its appearance in markets worldwide, refrigerated or canned with its taste intact.

5. Star fruit
Native to Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka
The star fruit comes from the carambola, a species of tree with pink flowers grown even in the US. The golden-yellow fruit is crunchy, sweet, with a taste of pineapples, apples and kiwis combined. There are two kinds of star fruits - acidulate and sweet, both rich in vitamin C. The fruit is particularly juice, some even making wine out of it.

6. Mangosteen
Native to the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas.
The mangosteen is another evergreen tree that produces oddly shaped fruits. The fruits are purple, creamy, described as citrus with a hint of peach. It is rich in antioxidants, some scientists even suggesting it can lower risk against certain human diseases, such as cancer. There are even legends about Queen Victoria offering a reward to the one that brings her the fruit.

7. Kumquat
Native to China
The kumquats or cumquats are small edible fruits resembling oranges that grow in a tree related to the Citrus. As with most of the fruits in the Citrus family, the kumquats are eaten raw. They are often used in marmalade and jelly but also in alcoholic drinks such as liquor. The Taiwanese add it to their teas, while others boil it and use it as a remedy for sore throats.

8. Durian
Native to Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia
Also known as the “King of Fruits,” Durian has a very particular odor, a unique taste and is covered by a hard husk. Having a disagreeable smell, compared to skunk spray or sewage, the fruit is forbidden in hotels and public transportations in Southeast Asia. Still, the whole experience is worth it, considering the absolutely divine taste of the Durian.

9. Dragon Fruit
Native to Mexico and Central and South America
Dragon fruit, strawberry pear or pitaya is a fruit of several cactus species with a sweet delicate taste and creamy pulp. The most common dragon fruit is the red pitaya, but other varieties include the Costa Rica pataya and the yellow pataya. Juice or wine can be obtained from the fruit, while the flowers can be eaten or used for tea.

10. African cucumber
Native to Kalahari Desert, Africa
The African cucumber, horned melon or melano is a fruit that can be best described as melon with horns. It originated in the Kalahari Desert and is now present in California and New Zealand. The dark green pulp reminds one of bananas, limes, passion fruit and cucumber. It is often used for decorating food but also in smoothies and sundaes.

(taken from: here)

Top 5 places to go in Sydney

2008-06-10T10:43:00.002+07:00

The ‘Harbour City’ of Australia is an overwhelming pot pourri of culture, entertainment and history. When visiting this scenic city ensure that your camera is fully loaded with film or memory to make the most of your experience. Stay at top tier Sydney accommodation with a view of the famous Opera House or enjoy the backpacker experience and take advantage of cheap Sydney accommodation . However you decide to visit the city, having a basic plan is essential. These top 5 sights should be a must on every Sydney tour plan.

1. Sydney Opera House
Built in 1973 and made a UNESCO world heritage site in 2007, the Sydney Opera House houses the world’s largest organ with over 10,000 pipes, and is the homeground for the Sydney Symphony, Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet. Concerts, opera, plays and other events are staged throughout its many sections. The Opera house is just a few minutes walk from the circular quay that is accessible by train, ferry, bus or taxi. Visit the Sydney Opera House official website for more information

2. Port Jackson
Sydney Harbour is a natural port and home to several attractions, particularly the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the harbour cruises that are facilitated by ferries and gondolas. Dubbed “Coathanger” for its Steel-arch design, the Bridge connects the Business District of Sydney with its North Shore, channeling rail, road and pedestrian traffic. Those with an interest in engineering and with strength of body can enjoy a climbing tour over the less traveled vestiges of the bridge. Also visit the bridge climb and Sydney Harbour Cruises for more information.

3. Sydney Tower
The tower offers an all-round panoramic bird’s eye view of Sydney city and if you are visiting around the time of the ‘Tour Run Up’, you may be interested in watching or even competing in the event that sends runners hurtling up the 1304 steps to the top of the tower. Visit the Tower Restaurant with its magnificent panorama or brave the unnerving experience of the Skywalk by stepping out onto a glass-floored platform for a more comprehensive view of Sydney.

4. Royal Botanic Gardens
Step into the largest botanical garden in Sydney for a showcase of exotic flowers & plants, wildlife and waterways, open all week. The Royal Botanic Gardens are the home of the New South Wales’ Centre for Plant Conservation & Research and regularly plays host to art classes and cultural events. The gardens are an excellent place to spend a day of relaxation.

5. Beaches
Sydney beaches are plentiful and every visitor to this shore-side city should include an excursion to one of its beaches. Bondi, Balmoral and Cronulla are some of the most popular sandy destinations and the surf of Manly Beach makes it a favourite for surfers.

(taken from: here)

5 Scary Hotel Experiences

2008-06-10T10:30:00.005+07:00

A boring holiday can begin with choosing a boring hotel, dull and with no personality. If you want to make sure the hotel you’ll be staying at will bring you the excitement needed, we have collected some of the creepiest, scariest and most terrifying hotels across the world. While some scare simply through their lack of cleanliness, other have verified sightings of ghosts.

1. Located in Hollywood, the Roosevelt Hotel is mainly famous for being home for 2 years to Marilyn Monroe before she started her modeling career. The 12-story Spanish style hotel opened in 1927, has 302 rooms and suites and cost $2.5 million to make. Miss Monroe stayed in room 1200, which overlooked the pool side. The huge mirror that hanged in her room is now in the lobby, many guests believing it is haunted by her spirit. Some guests even say they have seen her dancing in the hotel’s ballroom.

2. On a more realistic side of scary, the Carter Hotel in Manhattan is, according to the official hotel reviews, a hotel for the budget traveler. After a more thorough search, one notices that the Carter Hotel is famous for being the dirtiest hotel in America for the past 3 years. For around 200$, you can choose to stay in any of the 700 rooms, packed with moldy patches, terrible plumbing and bugs dead or alive, a complementary gift from the staff. Probably one of the scariest things you can find in a hotel room, as reported by the New York Post, is a woman’s body found in one of the rooms of Carter hotel in August.

3. The Ocean Edge Resort & Club in Cape Cod, Massachusetts is one of the few hotels not afraid to admit about its inhabitant ghosts. Even more, when you choose the “Spooky Mansion” package, they’ll even throw in the midnight cup of coffee and a flashlight to help you look for the ghost. And, if Addie doesn’t show, you’ll have plenty of entertainment opportunities to keep you occupied.

4. The Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, California is considered by many one of America’s most beautiful resorts. However, the hotel’s legend about a 24-year old gold digger that was found dead in 1892 is one of the odd attractions. Apart from the usual activities of ghost-haunting (door slamming or hearing voices), the ghost also invades your bed. She leaves shapes on one’s pillow, as if her head was resting there.

5. For a combination of remote, refreshing and scary, choose the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. The 138-room hotel located near the Rocky Mountain National Park is the one that inspired Stephen King to write The Shining. Built in 1909 by Freelan O. Stanley, the hotel is still home to the original owner. Stanley’s ghost can often be seen in the lobby or pool room, while others guests complain about hearing children playing in the hallway at night.

photo sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

(taken from: here)

Low Vitamin D Levels May Boost Men's Heart Attack Risk

2008-06-10T04:35:00.000+07:00

Vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of heart attack in men, says a U.S. study.

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, analyzed medical records and blood samples from 454 men, aged 40 to 75, who had a nonfatal heart attack or fatal heart disease, and compared them to 900 men who had no history of cardiovascular disease.

Men with a vitamin D deficiency (15 nanograms or less per milliliter of blood) had a higher risk of heart attack than those with a sufficient amount of vitamin D (30 nanograms per milliliter of blood or more).

"After additional adjustment for family history of myocardial infarction, body-mass index, alcohol consumption, physical activity, history of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, ethnicity, region, marine omega-3 intake, low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels, this relationship remained significant," the study authors wrote.

The findings appear in the June 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"Vitamin D deficiency has been related to an increasing number of conditions and to total mortality. These results further support an important role for vitamin D in myocardial infarction risk," the researchers concluded.

(taken from: here)

WiMax Hits the Patent Pool

2008-06-10T04:21:00.000+07:00

A new alliance of WiMax players aims to create a competitive royalty structure.

WiMax took another tentative step forward June 9 with the formation of the Open Patent Alliance, creating a patent pool to help companies obtain access to patents at a predictable cost. The group said its aim is to advance a competitive and open intellectual property rights model.

The OPA's founding members include Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco Systems, Clearwire, Intel, Samsung and Sprint Nextel. The OPA said it expects to secure participation of an additional six to nine investor companies.

The patent pool will aggregate essential patent rights needed to implement the WiMax standard as defined by the WiMax Forum and the IEEE 802.16e standard. WiMax is a 4G, IP-based broadband wireless technology that backers, particularly Sprint Nextel, Clearwire and a host of tech companies, are betting will become a viable broadband competitor.

In May, Sprint revived its flagging $5 billion WiMax plans with financial backing from Intel, Google and major cable companies. Sprint will merge its struggling WiMax division with Clearwire to create a new company operating under the Clearwire name.

"We expect to unleash wireless innovation with this patent alliance," Barry West, president of Sprint's XOHM business unit, said in a statement. "The open licensing program will help prompt pervasive WiMax technology. This speeds the day when consumers can enjoy the convenience of WiMax mobile broadband services on new devices in new places and experience all the open Internet has to offer."

The OPA founders said they hope the patent pool approach will ensure product differentiation and interoperability by focusing on providing a more competitive royalty structure by charging only for the features required to develop WiMax products. The patent pool will incorporate a number of royalty licensing arrangements, including cross-licensing among members of the pool.

According to the OPA, an independent third-party reviewer will evaluate submitted patents to determine how essential they are to the WiMax standard and WiMax Forum profiles.

"We are confident that the formation of the Open Patent Alliance, which is fully in line with Alcatel-Lucent's Open CPE program, will ensure a broad and diverse set of devices will be available to the consumer," said Brett Galloway, senior vice president of Cisco wireless and security.

Galloway added that widespread adoption of WiMax would allow people "to move freely throughout the world while maintaining continuous connectivity to cool new applications and services."

(taken from: here)

The Cost of the $199 iPhone: $10 More Per Month for Data

2008-06-10T04:15:00.001+07:00

The biggest news from Apple is what Steve Jobs didn’t say: It has completely changed the basis of its deals with AT&T and other wireless carriers.

According to a press release from AT&T, the carrier will no longer give a portion of monthly usage fees to Apple. Instead carriers will pay Apple a subsidy for each phone sold, in order to bring the price from $399 down to $199 for the 8 Gigabyte model. The company did not specify the amount of the subsidy. Subsidies of $200 to $300 are common in the industry.

What is more, consumers will now pay $30 a month for unlimited data service from AT&T, compared to $20 under the plan introduced last year. So even though the phone will now cost $200, consumers will be out more cash at the end of a two-year contract compared to the previous deal.

Of course, that includes faster 3G data service, so the price increase may be worth it. But we should call it an iPhone price increase, not a cut.

Unlimited data service for business users will cost $45 a month.

AT&T says the shift to upfront subsidies will cut into profits to the tune of 10 cents to 12 cents per share, both this year and next. As the number of customers paying the higher monthly bills increases, the phone company says profit per share will start to increase in 2010.

AT&T also said in its release that it now has 3G data service in 280 metropolitan areas, and that will increase to 350 areas by the end of the year.

For Apple, this move to getting all its money up front has several advantages. By using the same economic model as every other cell phone maker, it makes it easier to bring the phone to carriers in every corner of the world.

It also should help insulate Apple from the cost of people who buy iPhones and unlock them to use on carriers that don’t pay Apple the monthly fee. Now Apple will get its money, say $500, up front and it no longer has to police what people do with them. Whether Apple will still keep penalizing users who unlock their phones is one of the many questions that remain to be answered.

Indeed, Apple has just filed a short disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission saying that outside of the United States and a few other countries, its deals with carriers are not exclusive.

Apple has signed multi-year agreements with carriers authorizing them to distribute and provide network services for iPhones in over 70 countries. These agreements are generally not exclusive with a specific carrier, except in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, and certain other countries. Under the vast majority of these agreements, Apple will not receive follow-on revenue generating payments from carriers for the new iPhone 3G beyond the purchase of the device by carriers or a commission on sales of the device by Apple. Apple will continue to receive payments from cellular network providers related to first-generation iPhones as long as they remain active on authorized networks.

(taken from: here)

Here Are The Nominees For The 2008 Golden Foot Award

2008-06-09T23:52:00.006+07:00

The 2008 GOLDEN FOOT edition was presented in Turin earlier this afternoon. During the presentation press conference Alessandro Del Piero, who won the award in 2007, revealed the 10 names of the nominees for the 2008 Golden Foot award, the prestigious international career prize under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. Here are the ten names of the players chosen by the jury consisting of the event international Media Partners:

1. David Beckham (England),
Date of birth: 02/05/1975
Current club: Los Angeles Galaxy (Usa)
Position: right or central midfielder

HONOURS
English League (1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003)
English Cup (1996, 1999)
UEFA Champions League (1999)
Intercontinental Cup (1999)
Spanish League (2007)
Spanish Super Cup (2003)
English League Young Footballer of the Year (1997)
UEFA Champions League Footballer of the Year (1999)

David BECKHAM PROFILE
Simply the most famous footballer in the world, David Beckham's main attributes are his long-range shooting ability - especially from free-kicks - pin-point accurate crossing from the right. He established himself in the Manchester United FC first team in the 1995/96 English double-winning season and a goal from the halfway line in the first game of the next campaign, at Wimbledon, marked his arrival as a star. Beckham's efforts in the treble-winning team of 1998/99 that lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy won him the second place behind Rivaldo in the voting for FIFA World Player of the Year and European Player of the Year. His coruscating form in 2001 brought another second place in the FIFA poll, behind Luís Figo. In 2003 summer, he joined Real Madrid CF (where he won a Liga title in 2007), then in summer 2007 he transferred to the United States Major League Soccer to play with Los Angeles Galaxy. On March, 26th 2008, Beckham becomes the fifth to win 100 caps with English national team.

2. Gianluigi Buffon (Italy),
Date of birth: 28/01/1978
Current club: Juventus FC (Italy)
Position: goalkeeper

HONOURS
FIFA World Cup (2006)
U21 European Championship (1996)
UEFA Cup (1999)
Italian League (2002, 2003)
Italian Cup (1999)
Italian Supercup (1999, 2002, 2003)
Official Italian Republic's Order of Merit (2006)
IFFHS Best Goalkeeper of the Year (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007)
UEFA Champions League MVP (2003)
UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Year (2003)
Lev Yashin award (2006, best goalkeeper of the World Cup)

Gianluigi BUFFON PROFILE
Gianluigi Buffon is unanimously considered the best goalkeeper in the world, but only after his retirement it will be possible to say if he was, as it seems, one of the strongest ones ever. He seemed immediately predestined to become what he is now: "Gigi" worked his way through the youth ranks at Parma that signed him as a professional player at the age of 17 in 1995, going on to make his Serie A debut for the club against AC Milan that year and winning the UEFA Cup with Parma in 1999. Buffon went on to make 168 appearances for Parma while building a reputation as one of Europe's best young goalkeeping talents and it wasn't long until the major clubs started looking his way. Juventus won the auction for Buffon's services in 2001 and paid Parma a world record fee of over £32m for the 23- year- old goalie. Personal prizes such as UEFA's Most Valuable Player Award and Best Goalkeeper Awards have continued to add to Buffon's trophy cabinet alongside notable club and international successes as the Scudetto (Italian national title) with Juventus and a World Cup victory with Italy in 2006. The Calciopoli (match-fixing) scandal which saw Juventus relegated to Serie B did not scare Buffon away from the club and he duly helped his club to the Serie B title in 2006/2007 as they battled their way back to Serie A in only one season. Buffon's international career began at the age of 19 when he replaced injured Gianluca Pagliuca between the goalposts but it was to be a few years before he made the position his own. Buffon's greatest career triumph has to be the 2006 World Cup during which he kept a 453-minute scoreless streak as he helped Italy to propel towards the World Cup glory.

3. Fabio Cannavaro (Italy),
Date of birth: 13/9/1973
Current club: Real Madrid CF (Spain)
Position: central defender

HONOURS
FIFA World Cup (2006)
U-21 European Championship (1994, 1996)
UEFA Cup (1999)
Italian Cup (1999)
Italian Supercup (1999)
Spanish League (2007, 2008)
European Footballer of the Year (2006)
FIFA World Player of the Year (2006)
FIFPRO Footballer of the Year (2006)
Italian Serie A Footballer of the Year (2006)

Fabio CANNAVARO PROFILE
The captain of the Italian national team, 2006 world champions, is one of the best defenders in the world. A SSC Napoli youth product, he made his Serie A debut when he was 20 and became a regular in the blue of his boyhood club in 1993/94. Departing for Parma FC in 1995/96, Cannavaro won the UEFA Cup and two Italian Cups during a seven-year spell. Internazionale FC paid €23m for him in 2002 but after two seasons he made a surprise move to Juventus FC in August 2004. In a typically imperious form in Turin, he was ever-present as Juventus won the title two years in a row but those triumphs were wiped out by a match-fixing scandal. With Juventus relegated Cannavaro joined Real Madrid CF in the summer of 2006, signing a three-year contract. Cannavaro made his full Italy debut against Northern Ireland in January 1997, subsequently emerging as a mainstay at international level alongside another great Italian defender, Alessandro Nesta. He starred at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship 2000 where he played in the final loss to France. Captain and ever-present in qualifying for UEFA Euro 2004, Cannavaro played twice in Portugal, but enjoyed his crowning glory two years later, lifting the World Cup trophy as Italy defeated France on his 100th appearance. Thanks to this great victory, in 2006 he was elected European Footballer of the Year (voted by journalists), FIFA World Player of the Year (voted by coaches and captains of national teams) and FIFPRO Footballer of the Year (voted by his colleagues).

4. Luís Figo (Portugal),
Date of birth: 04/11/1972
Current club: Internazionale FC (Italy)
Position: right or left midfielder

HONOURS
UEFA Champions League (2002)
Intercontinental Cup (2002)
UEFA Cup Winners Cup (1997)
European Supercup (1998, 2002)
U-16 FIFA World Cup (1989)
U-20 FIFA World Cup (1991)
Spanish Supercup (1996, 2003)
Spanish Cup (1997, 1998)
Spanish League (1998, 1999, 2001, 2003)
Italian League (2007, 2008)
Italian Cup (2006)
European Footballer of the Year (2000)
FIFA World Player of the Year (2001)
Portuguese Footballer of the Year (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002)

Luis FIGO PROFILE
A teenager of outrageous talent and now one of the game's premier wide midfield players, Luís Figo relishes teasing defenders with his trickery and dribbling ability. The leader of the Portuguese "golden generation", Figo won a FIFA World Youth Championship in 1991, the same year he made his debut for Portugal in a game against Luxembourg. After joining aged eleven, Figo made his Sporting Clube de Portugal debut when he was 16 in 1989 and went on to make 124 appearances, winning the Portuguese Cup and earning the captaincy before joining FC Barcelona in 1995. It was at Camp Nou that his career took off: Figo won a UEFA European Cup Winners' Cup in 1996/97, back-to-back Primera División titles and went on to appear 172 times for the Azulgrana, scoring 30 goals. In 2000, there was his controversial, world-record transfer to Real Madrid CF. The move caused outrage among Barcelona fans and many others baulked at the €65m transfer fee. Yet Figo justified the investment by helping Madrid to the Primera División title and UEFA Champions League semi-finals as well as winning the FIFA World Footballer of the Year award. In 2001/02, he went one better, playing through injury for an hour of the final against Bayer 04 Leverkusen as Madrid prevailed 2-1. In 2002/03 season, Figo played a major role as Madrid won the Spanish title, scoring ten times in 33 matches. In 2005 he went to Internazionale FC where he won two Italian titles in a row.

5. Ryan Giggs (Wales),
Date of birth: 29/11/1973
Current club: Manchester United FC
Position: left wing/midfielder

HONOURS
UEFA Champions League (1999)
Intercontinental Cup (1999)
European Supercup (1991)
English League Cup (1992, 2006)
English Premier League (1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008)
English FA Cup (1994, 1996, 1999, 2004)
English League Young Footballer of the Year (1992, 1993)
U-21 European Footballer of the Year (1993)
Intercontinental Cup MVP (1999)

Ryan GIGGS PROFILE
Ryan Giggs is one of very few players to have spent their entire career at the same club, he is the most decorated player in the history of Manchester United FC with more than 500 appearances for the club, Welsh winger Ryan Giggs's main strengths are his speed and his ability to manipulate the ball while running at full pace. Giggs is Manchester United's longest-serving current player, having made his first appearance for the club during the 1990-91 season and been a regular player since the 1991-92 season. He has played the highest number of competitive games for the club (more than Sir Bobby Charlton, the previous recordman), and holds the club record of team trophies won by a player (24). As well as being a fine dribbler, Giggs is also a regular goalscorer: it is very famous a magnificent solo score to win the 1999 FA Cup semi-final replay against Arsenal FC, from which point the club went on to secure an unprecedented treble of league, cup and UEFA Champions League, later adding the Intercontinental Cup. He has claimed nine other English titles (his overall tally of ten is a joint English record), two more FA Cups and a League Cup, one more Champions League (2008) and is the only player to win the Professional Footballers Association Young Player of the Year award on two occasions in a row (1992 and 1993). As Welsh international Giggs has been a regular in his side since becoming the youngest player to represent his country aged 17 years and 321 days against Germany in 1991, although he has never played in a final tournament. With his country's shirt, the Welsh Wizard has played 62 games scoring 12 goals.

6. Thierry Henry (France),
Date of birth: 17/8/1977
Current club: FC Barcelona (Spain)
Position: forward

HONOURS
FIFA World Cup (1998)
UEFA European Championship (2000)
FIFA Confederations Cup (2003)
French League (1997)
English FA Cup (2002, 2003, 2005)
English Premier League (2002, 2004)
French Young Footballer of the Year (1997)
French Footballer of the Year (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
English Premier League Top Scorer (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006)
English Premier League Footballer of the Year (2003, 2004, 2006)
FIFA Confederations Cup Top Scorer (2003)
FIFA Confederations Cup MVP (2003)

Thierry HENRY PROFILE
Henry first made his mark with AS Monaco (1993-99), helping them to the French title in 1997 and a UEFA Champions League semi-final in 1998. He joined Juventus FC in January for a significant fee but failed to settle and seven months later Wenger took Henry to Arsenal. Reaching the 2000 UEFA Cup final, Premiership titles followed in 2001/02 and 2003/04, when Henry was the league's leading scorer, a feat he repeated in 2004/05 and 2005/06, he won the ESM Golden Boot award in 2003/04 and 2004/05 and FA Cup winners' medals in 2002, 2003 and 2005. In 2005/06 Henry became Arsenal's all-time leading goalscorer and played in the UEFA Champions League final, a superb campaign ending in a disappointing 2-1 loss to FC Barcelona. In 1998, when he was only 20, with France he finished as his country's leading scorer as they won the FIFA World Cup. Further success followed at UEFA European championship in 2000, when he was again his country's top scorer with three strikes. Scored six goals in seven qualifiers for the European championship in 2004 and then found the net twice against Switzerland to help France to reach the last eight. In the 2006 World Cup he scored three times, including the winner in the quarter-final against Brazil, as Les Bleus finished runners-up.

7. Raúl González Blanco (Spain),
Date of birth: 27/6/1977
Current club: Real Madrid CF (Spain)
Position: forward

HONOURS
UEFA Champions League (1998, 2000, 2002)
Intercontinental Cup (1998, 2002)
European Supercup (2002)
Spanish League (1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008)
Spanish Supercup (1997, 2001, 2003)
Uefa Champions League Top Scorer (2000, 2001)
Spanish League Top Scorer (1999, 2001)
European Bronze Boot (1999, 2001)
Best Spanish Footballer (1997)
Intercontinental Cup Best Player (1998)
Champions League Best Forward (2000)
Balón de Plata (2001)
Third Fifa World Player (2001)
IFFHS Best World Scorer (1999)
Best Scorer ever of the Spanish selection

RAUL Gonzalez PROFILE
Raúl is born in Madrid and lives at San Cristobal de los Angeles, a modest area to the south of the city. His father Pedro is an electrician and a great fan of the Club Atlético de Madrid and signs his son to his favourite club. Jesus Gil y Gil, the club's chairman, promises to pay for the 13-year-old kid's studies up to the university, but it never comes true. Even if the Atlético "infantil" (the youth team) wins the Spanish championship with 65 goals by Raúl, the year after the boss decides to dismantle the youth team, and then Real Madrid CF come forward to sign the young champion. Gil reacts offering him a contract as a professional player (he is 15) but the kid does not trust him and leaves. On 29 October 1994 Raúl made his debut with Real Madrid CF, he was only 17 and entered the pitch as a replacement of Emilio Butragueño, one of his youth idols. He is the youngest player making his debut in the history of the club, but it was not one of Real's best periods: the last Champions League won dates back to 1966, and the last national title to 1990. The league title arrives immediately, but they have to wait more to win the Champions League: on 20 May 1998 their "seventh" trophy gets to the museum of the club. The "Blancos" beat by 1 to 0 Juventus FC in Amsterdam, the goal is scored by Mijatovic and Raúl is one of the protagonists of the match. The same happens in 2000, in the final in Paris they win 3-0 over Valencia CF, his is the last goal after a solo that is much applauded, and they lift their eighth Champions League Cup. Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham will come later to play alongside Raúl. No one of them, however, overshadows the young player from Madrid. On the pitch his reputation stays the same: he scores in the 2002 Champions League final, his is the first goal of a show ended by Zidane's goal. Beating Bayer 04 Leverkusen by 2 to 1 Real Madrid CF is the new European champion, while in the Liga the titles keep piling up and get to 29 (2003). With a contract expiring in 2010, Raul will be a madridist player for life, but by now he is already a legend of the "casa blanca".

8. Roberto Carlos (Brazil),
Date of birth: 10/4/1973
Current club: Fenerbahçe SK
Position: left defender

HONOURS
FIFA Confederations Cup (1997)
FIFA World Cup (2002)
Copa América (1997, 1999)
UEFA Champions League (1998, 2000, 2002)
Intercontinental Cup (1998, 2002)
European Supercup (2002)
Brazilian Championship (1993, 1994)
Spanish League (1997, 2001, 2003, 2007)
Spanish Supercup (1997, 2003)

ROBERTO CARLOS PROFILE
Roberto Carlos is known for his trademark powerful free kicks. He is also known for his speed and his aggressiveness at joining the offense, often leading counter attacks from the back of the field. He is regarded as one of the best full backs ever. After three seasons with SE Palmeiras, in 1995 he was transferred to Internazionale FC: it was a good season for him and scored 5 goals (as a defender!) in 30 matches. At the end of that season he was transferred to Real Madrid CF, and with this club he has started his titles collection: three Spanish Leagues and three Champions League (competition in which he is one of only five players to have played more than 100 matches in the Champions League as of March 2007) in all. As a Brazilian international, he has been a member of the Brazil national team in three World Cups, helping the team to reach the final in the 1998 edition and to win the 2002 tournament. He finished his career with the Seleção with 125 matches played and 29 goals scored. He finished second to countryman Ronaldo in the 1997 FIFA World Player of the Year award poll and was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. In 2007 he was transferred to Fenerbahçe SK.

9. Francesco Totti (Italy),
Date of birth: 27/9/1976
Current club: AS Roma (Italy)
Position: forward

HONOURS
FIFA World Cup (2006)
U21 European Championship (1996)
Italian League (2001)
Italian Cup (2007, 2008)
Italian Supercup (2001, 2007)
Italian League Top Scorer (2007)
ESM Golden Boot (2007)

Francesco TOTTI PROFILE
Francesco Totti is one of the most exciting and impressive attacking footballers to emerge in this generation and is widely recognised as AS Roma's talisman having never left the club to play elsewhere. Totti made his first appearance for AS Roma at the age of only 16 and his talent coupled with an eagerness to impress was soon rewarded as he forced himself into a regular place in the first team. His development at the club continued in earnest and he was named Serie A Player of the Year both in 2000 and in 2003. Totti's influence in the squad was one of the major factors that contributed to AS Roma securing the Italian league title at the end of the 2001 season with the young man scoring thirteen goals for his team. Totti's outstanding performances for Roma continued as Totti was moulded into the player and creative genius that we know and love today. Recently, in the 2006-07 season Totti scored an impressive tally of 26 goals securing the trophy for the top goal scorer in the League as well as the European Golden Boot. In international football Totti has played as a regular for the Italian national squad since he first made his senior debut in 2000. Totti was a member of the successful Italian squad that lifted the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He announced his retirement from the national team in July 2007 emphasising that he wishes to concentrate on his domestic football with Roma.

10. David Trezeguet (France).
Date of birth: 15/10/1977
Current club: Juventus FC (Italy)
Position: forward

HONOURS
FIFA World Cup (1998)
UEFA European Championship (2000)
Italian League (2002, 2003)
Italian Supercup (2002, 2003)
Italian League Top Scorer (2002)
French League (1997, 2000)

David TREZEGUET PROFILE
David Trezeguet is one of the best forwards and goal scorers in the world. He is one of the many French players whose origins lay outside France. He was born in France, the son of an Argentine footballer (Jorge Trezeguet), grew up in Argentina and played his first professional games there for CA Platense before joining AS Monaco in 1995. He has been pretty much a first choice ever since the 1998 World Cup win where he played a part in every game except the final. One of his greatest moments so far has been scoring, with French nartional team shirt, the winning extra-time golden goal against Italy in the final of Euro2000, a great striker's finish, swivelling and firing a rocket up into the net. He's much more of a goal poacher than a creator in the Henry mould and his goal scoring record throughout his career has always been excellent, his ratio of goals to games must be around two in every three. He's the type of player who can win a game when the team is not playing well by having the knack of getting on the end of a half chance. Besides winning the World Cup and European Championship you can add two French and two Italian titles won with AS Monaco and with Juventus FC.

Among them, the player who will get most votes on the web site www.goldenfoot.com from May 9th through August 29th, will have the honour of receiving the precious Golden Foot award in the presence of H.S.H. Prince Albert II in the Principality of Monaco on 1 September next. The winner will also leave his footprints on the CHAMPIONS PROMENADE, the Walk of Fame of international football on the seafront of Monaco. (PRESS KIT).

(taken from: here)

Hologic-Third Wave: Molecular diagnostic reagent merger (HOLX, TWTI)

2008-06-09T23:02:00.001+07:00

Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Third Wave Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWTI) for a purchase price of $11.25 per share, or approximately $580 million in value. This represents about a 24% premium to Third Wave’s average trading price over the last three months. The Boards of Directors of both companies unanimously approved the transaction.

This merger is one of the more interesting in medical and diagnostic companies, despite neither company being a household name. Third Wave develops and markets molecular diagnostic reagents for a wide variety of DNA and RNA analysis applications for conditions such as Cystic Fibrosis, Hepatitis C, cardiovascular risk and other diseases. Its HPV market opportunity is a $200 million market and growth in excess of 40% in each of the past five years. Hologic believes the global market for HPV testing will increase to $800 million in the next few years.

Third Wave shareholders will receive an aggregate amount of an estimated $580 million in cash, assuming the conversion of Third Wave’s outstanding convertible notes, warrants and restricted stock. Hologic plans to finance this transaction with a $600 million loan in the form of a senior secured credit facility, and it has secured fully committed debt financing for the full consideration from Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Hologic expects the acquisition of Third Wave to help accelerate the growth of its diagnostics division, and once the pending FDA approval is granted it sees a higher diagnostic growth business for womens’ health. The company noted “If and when Third Wave’s HPV tests receive FDA approval, which we hope will be in the first half of calendar 2009, we will be well-positioned to take these products quickly and effectively to market.”

The transaction should close in the third calendar quarter of 2008, and is expected to be modestly dilutive to Hologic’s adjusted earnings per share in the first full year after closing, and increasingly accretive thereafter.

It is expected to be slightly dilutive to Hologic’s non-GAAP EPS in Fiscal 2008 and it anticipates $0.02 to $0.03 per share dilution to previous guidance, excluding acquisition-related charges. The acquisition is expected to be approximately $0.10 dilutive to non-GAAP EPS in Fiscal 2009 and to be accretive to non-GAAP EPS beginning in Fiscal 2010. The transaction is expected to be cash flow neutral in Fiscal 2009 as a result of the use of $160 million in acquired tax NOLs, including interest and financing expense of approximately $40 million from the term loan of approximately $600 million to finance the acquisition.

(taken from: here)

Injuries hit Italy and Holland squads hard

2008-06-09T00:17:00.000+07:00

It may be the pick of the early fixtures at Euro 2008, but both Holland and Italy will be limping into tomorrow's Group C showdown in Bern.

Injuries to big names have struck in both camps, with Holland the latest to receive a major blow when it was confirmed that Arjen Robben is out of the match with a groin problem.

'First of all it's very disappointing for Arjen,' said Holland coach Marco van Basten.

'However, it's also a pity for the team, especially as we lost Ryan Babel, also a left winger, already last week.'

Robin van Persie is also expected to miss out despite returning to training while defender Mario Melchiot is rated as doubtful with a groin injury of his own.

Good news has been short in supply from the Dutch treatment room, but Real Madrid's Wesley Sneijder is expected to be fit for the match after problems earlier in the week.

Still, the list of absentees leaves Van Basten short-handed for his team's first test in the so-called 'Group of Death', which also features France and Romania.

Holland can at least take heart from the fact that the Italians have been hit with injury problems of their own, most notably in defence.

The world champions are already without influential captain Fabio Cannavaro, ruled out for the tournament after undergoing surgery on damaged ankle ligaments, and they are now sweating on the fitness of Roma veteran Christian Panucci.

The 35-year-old limped out of training on Friday with a knee injury, but did his best to sound upbeat on Saturday.

'I feel better,' he said. 'Yesterday I felt a pain in my tendon in my knee and having suffered the same problem earlier this year I decided to stop training as a precaution.

'I really don't want to miss the game against Holland, not to be a hero but rather because I believe I'm fine and I think I can recover.'

Italy will feature Alessandro Del Piero after the Juventus star was restored to the national team recently, having been dropped following the World Cup.

However, Serie A's leading scorer could be deployed on the left wing rather than a forward position.

(taken from: here)

Dwayne Johnson Gets 'Smart'

2008-06-08T23:51:00.003+07:00

Dwayne Johnson is speaking to a drunken woman who has somehow managed to slip past security and into the middle of a scene he's shooting. He's in Las Vegas, outside a casino, filming his next kid-friendly movie, Race to Witch Mountain, in which he'll play a cabdriver being taken for a ride by two paranormal teens. When the inebriated woman wanders onto the set, you half expect Johnson to grab a metal folding chair and smash it over her head, but no. ''Excuse me, sweetheart,'' he tells her, in the reassuring tones usually reserved for putting small children to bed. ''Darling? Honey? You're in the shot.''

Clearly, the wrestler-turned-actor formerly known as The Rock isn't taking a single fan for granted these days. On June 20, Johnson will be seen opposite Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway as Agent 23 in Get Smart, a big-screen update of the 1965-70 sitcom about a bumbling secret agent. And once he's finished production on Witch Mountain (an update of the 1975 family classic Escape to Witch Mountain), he'll sprout wings and practice nocturnal dentistry as the star of Tooth Fairy. ''The idea that I could become the tooth fairy to children worldwide is hilarious to me,'' he admits.

That's right, folks, the guy who once cracked vertebrae in the wrestling ring and taunted his opponents with references to ''poon tang pie'' is now hell-bent on becoming your kid's favorite film star. After proving he could carry a movie to No. 1 with last fall's surprise hit The Game Plan, he's positioning himself as Hollywood's go-to family comedy hitman. It's all part of the latest reinvention of The Rock — which starts with not referring to himself as The Rock. ''I'm aware of everything that comes with that nickname, and I just think there's a lot more you can do without it,'' he says. ''But I wanted it to happen naturally, from 'The Rock' to Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson to 'Dwayne Johnson.''' He doesn't do the thing with the eyebrow anymore, either, and he's trimmed pounds of meathead muscle off his still handsomely chiseled 6'4'' self. The purpose of this massive rebranding effort: to cast himself in the image of his four-quadrant matinee idols Will Smith and Tom Hanks. ''They embrace being a movie star from beginning to end,'' says the 36-year-old actor. ''From preproduction through the all-important marketing, they work hard and enjoy it.''

Get Smart may not lift Johnson to megastar level, but it is his first big-studio, above-the-title credit without any geological references in his name. And it gives him a chance to show off his comedic chops to a wider audience than ever before. As Agent 23, a Bond-like alpha spy and ladies' man, he mentors Smart (Carell) while competing with him for the affections of Agent 99 (Hathaway). It's not a huge part — he's actually only in a few choice scenes (including one in which he and Carell suck face; more on that later) — but somebody at Warner Bros. clearly believes in Johnson's drawing power: The guy is all over the trailers. ''He's saddling up to do an enormous amount of publicity,'' says producer Andrew Lazar. ''Promoting the movie is tiring. But I think he's embraced it and made it a part of the routine and made it fun for himself.''

Johnson is so caught up in rebranding himself, he sometimes sounds like he's just stepped out of a Tony Robbins seminar. It's not uncommon to hear sentences like ''I love marketing!'' or ''I'm swinging for the fences'' or even ''I think it's important that you become fiscal partners with the studio to help the movie do well...'' tumble out of his mouth without a hint of that famously crooked grin. He's lately been known to wake up at 4 a.m. and fire off inspirational e-mails to members of the cast and crew (''We're going to slay some dragons today!''). In the name of his new kid-friendly image, he's also been trying to clean up his language, which can make for some awkward conjunctions (''Abso-damn-lutely!''). No matter what he's doing, Johnson works hard to make you like him, offering to fetch you a drink and using a politician's knack for peppering his sentences with your name. ''I think it's become part of my relentless drive," he says of his dream of packing movie theaters around the world. ''I would rather fail being aggressive than being passive and not trying to control what I can do. Because you know, I failed plenty of times, but if I do now, at least I'll feel like I'm doing something."

Johnson first tried to crack the Hollywood code seven years ago, when he attempted to parlay his hugely successful wrestling career (multimillion-dollar WWE contracts, a rabid fan base, a best-selling memoir called The Rock Says...) into a gig as a big-screen actor. But playing a Conan-like desert warrior in The Mummy Returns didn't exactly put him on the fast track to stardom. And even when he was given a shot at headlining his own sword-and-sandals franchise with the title role in the Mummy spin-off, The Scorpion King, the character never got enough traction to merit a sequel. ''As a wrestler, my brand was arrogant at times, funny and endearing,'' says Johnson. ''I was just learning how to understand it, apply it, protect it.''

To that end, over the years Johnson has repositioned himself almost as many times as Madonna. He took a shot at appealing to mass audiences as a heroic bounty hunter in director Peter Berg's 2003 jungle action-comedy, The Rundown, which opened to a respectable $18.5 million but was nowhere near the blockbuster he was hoping for. ''It just didn't work marketing-wise,'' he says. ''I should have focused more on action fans. I didn't have that kind of broad appeal yet. I wanted it but I hadn't earned it.'' For a while, he threw himself into a series of hardcore tough-guy roles — in Walking Tall (2004), Doom (2005), and Gridiron Gang (2006) — that didn't exactly hit pay dirt either. ''I was a little concerned after the failure of Doom,'' recalls Johnson, who despaired that he hadn't turned at least a few industry heads. ''A lot of times movies that fail at the box office [can still be] great opportunities for someone, but that wasn't the case at all.'' Even more frustrating, when he tried to stretch his range by taking on character roles in eclectic flicks (the gay bodyguard in Be Cool; an amnesiac action star opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in Southland Tales), nobody could smell what he was cooking.

Johnson decided it was time to deploy a new strategy. He got in touch with his inner mensch and took the lead in the kid-targeted comedy The Game Plan, portraying a playboy quarterback who suddenly finds himself Mr. Mom to an adorable little moppet. ''I put so much into The Game Plan thinking, This has to work,'' he says. ''I thought, not only does this formula speak to me, I also loved the idea of becoming partners with the brand and culture of Disney.'' Disney reciprocated the feelings. ''He's one of the hardest-working people on behalf of a movie I've worked with,'' says Oren Aviv, president of production for Walt Disney Studios. ''He's the guy who's constantly saying, 'What else can I do?' That puts him in a unique category of less than a handful of actors working today.'' By the time The Game Plan had grossed $91 million, The Rock was already well into his own brand overhaul, slimming down with a targeted workout routine and a low-sugar diet. ''For years I carried all that weight for football and wrestling, and I finally realized there's no need for it anymore,'' he says. ''Now I just want to look the part.''

The new, sleeker look certainly works in Get Smart, a movie he actively pursued before the filmmakers had begun casting. He even took a pay cut to share the screen with Carell in a goofy comedy aimed precisely at Johnson's new target audience: families. ''I got a call from his agent, asking would I consider Dwayne,'' says director Peter Segal. ''I said, 'Are you kidding me? I'd have to rewrite the part. It's not worthy of him.' The agent said, 'No, he's just interested in being in the movie. He just wants to be a part of it. He wants to be in the sandbox with everyone.' I thought that was the coolest thing.'' According to producer Lazar, it was also pretty crafty career management. ''People are just starting [to see] the process of how he's reinventing himself,'' he says. ''But taking the third lead in the movie — recognizing the potential of his character in this franchise — I think really shows that he's savvy beyond being a good actor.''

The transformation into family-friendly star did have its touchy moments. In one scene in Get Smart, he had to kiss costar Carell right on the mouth. ''Many actors get the type of material where you're asked to kiss another man, from Jake Gyllenhaal to Will Smith,'' he says of the big smooching scene. ''I'm happy to tell you, and Steve's wife will attest to this, the guy's got some pretty soft lips.'' (Adds Segal, ''Steve would constantly remark that Dwayne sweats testosterone while he sweats estrogen.'') But puckering up aside, Johnson may have finally found a brand image that works for him as well as the audience — one that gives him a decent shot at a genuine A-list career. If only that were enough for him. Turns out what Johnson really wants to do is run a studio. ''I'd love to not only have the ability to greenlight movies but to figure out the strategy on how the movie's going to work,'' he says. An unlikely ambition for a guy once known for dispatching his wrestling opponents with ''The People's Elbow.'' Then again, other famous former musclemen have managed to make such power dreams come true. Just ask the governor of California.

(taken from: here)

World Soccer's Top Young Players For 2008

2008-06-07T15:28:00.006+07:00

While old school football fans may bemoan the lack of a new Pele or Maradona coming through in every generation of young footballers, we feel that the current crop of young football geniuses strutting their skilful stuff on the world's biggest footballing stages deserve a little praise and recognition. We present About.com's Top Young World Soccer Players for 2008.

1. Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi's growth from the ranks of "prodigious young talent" to "probably the best footballer in the world" has been nothing short of meteoric over the past twelve months or so. Still only twenty years old, Messi has had the extraordinary pressure of being dubbed the latest "new Maradona" but none have so far came as close to deserving the title. Messi, on current form, comes close, damn close.

He may still have to bring World Cup glory back to his native Argentina for the first time since the aforementioned Maradona captained them to victory in Mexico 1986 but his displays for Barcelona where he has taken the mantle of attacking favourite from Ronaldinho and shot himself into top goalscorer position is enough for now.

2. Bojan Krkic
One would think that 961 goals in seven seasons for Barcelona's youth teams would prove to be an unbearable millstone around a young player's neck but not so for the recently capped 17 year old Spanish international Bojan Krkic.

His slight frame gave the Barcelona powers-that-be concern that he may not make the transition to the more physcial aspect of first team professional football but, given his head by Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard this season, Bojan has delivered emphatically and has shown that the goals in first team football are placed in exactly the same spot as he found them 961 times for the youth teams.

Spain's decision to cap Bojan could be one of their best decisions in decades.

3. Giovani Dos Santos
Another young star plucked from his native country at a young age by the eagle eyed scouts from Barcelona's youth academy (spotting a pattern here with the development of the world's best young players?), Giovani, like Bojan, also came from professional footballing stock with his father Zizinho having played professionally in North and South America.

Still only 18 years old himself, Giovani has made the breakthrough into Frank Rijkaard's multi million pound, star studded Barcelona side and been rewarded on the international stage by Mexican coach Hugo Sanchez with his first caps in 2007.

Confident in front of goal and possessing a fantastic left foot, Giovani has a bright future in front of him.

4. Cesc Fabregas
How Barcelona must curse Arsene Wenger and Arsenal for having poached the 16 year old Cesc Fabregas from under their noses when they had laid the groundwork for his football development at their world renowned youth academy (yes folks, the fourth player out of five to learn his trade at Barcelona!)

Whether Fabregas would have received so much gametime in the Barcelona centre midfield as he has over the past four years at Arsenal is debatable and Wenger's confidence in the young playmaker's abilities has seen him flourish into a seasoned Premier League and European campaigner while still only twenty years old.

In no hurry to rush back to Spain, Fabregas could be wowing English crowds for many years to come.

5. Alexandre Pato
AC Milan could hardly wait for January 2008 when they were finally allowed, under Italian laws on non-EU young footballers, to elevate young Brazilian forward Pato into their first team as coach Carlo Ancelotti fought desperately to save his job.

A goal on his debut against Napoli was the exact response the Milan hierarchy were looking for and a new Brazilian star was born in Milan. His international team-mate Ronaldinho had already heaped on the pressure by pointing to Pato as the young Brazilian most likely to make the grade at the very top level and with a $22m price tag on his head it would be understandable if the 18 year old faltered. He hasn't and already looks like one of world football's most exciting young talents.

(taken from: here)

Top ten young Hollywood male actors

2008-06-07T15:20:00.002+07:00

The Silver actors of Hollywood are a crop of actors that came up in the 90's and have impressed us ever since. They respectfully hold their own up against the most regarded actors in the industry. The brilliance of these young actors affords the pick of the best scripts, directors, and co-starring. The is virtually the limit for the and their futures are so very bright that even they just might have to wear shades.

10. Jake Gyllenhall's role in the classic comedy City Slickers (1991) as Danny Robbins was the beginning of many a great things for Jake. His career would not really take off until 1998 in films like Homegrown as Jake/Blue Kahan and October Sky 1999) as Homer Hickam. A breakthrough role opposite Jennifer Aniston saw him fitting nicely into the shoes of leading man in The Good Girl 2002) as Holden Worther The Day After Tomorrow (2004) as Sam Hall and Brokeback Mountain (2005) as Jack Twist affirmed his immense talent and range. He continues to win both media critics and Hollywood's praise.

9. Tobey Maguire rise and rise in Hollywood begun on TV. His breakthrough roles came in The Ice Storm (1997) as Paul Hood and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) as Hitchhiker. He brought quirkiness to his portrayal of David in Pleasantville (1998). A compensate performance in The Cider House Rules (1999) as Homer Wells led him to exhibit the sensitivity that comes out in depictions of his characters no matter the genre. In Wonder Boys (2000) as James Leernd the evidence of his talent filled screen along with co-stars Michael Douglas and Robert Downey Jr. He reached mega stardom with the successful of not one but two Spider-Man (2002/04) as Spider-Man/Peter Parker. He can be seen in the newly released The Good German (2006) .as Patrick Tully.

8. Colin Farrell seems to have burst onto the Hollywood screen out of nowhere. The Irish born actor appeared in several TV shows in the UK that is until he appeared in Tigerland (2000) .as Pvt. Roland Bozz. Not long after was Hollywood knocking down his door to cast him. It was his intense performance opposite Tom Cruise in Minority Report (2002) as Danny Witwer that saw him come into his own. With his movie stardom assured, he delivered even more intensity in The Recruit (2003) .as James Douglas Clayton and Miami Vice (2006) as Det. James 'Sonny' Crockett.

7. Jamie Foxx first graced the silver screen in Toys (1992) as Baker. It was his roles in The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996) as Ed and The Players Club (1998) as Blue that he transformed from TV actor to movie actor. In Oliver Stones Any Given Sunday (1999) as Willie Beamen, Jamie Foxx shown evidence of true movie stardom in the making. His performances in both Collateral (2004) as Max and Ray 2004/I) as Ray Charles won him Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. It would be for Ray that Jamie Foxx received an Oscar for a more than deserving performance.

6. Health Ledger brought screams from young fan with his breakthrough role in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) as Patrick Verona, He followed that role with a comedic delivery in A Knight's Tale 2001) as Sir William Thatcher/Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein of Gelderland. Film roles in both Monster's Ball (2001) as Sonny Grotowski and The Four Feathers (2002) as Harry Faversham provided glimpse into the sheer commitment he brings to every role. It was in Brokeback Mountain (2005) as Ennis Del Mar that all the elements came together. He stunned the world with a brilliant portrayal of a tortured man overwhelmed by his lust. The performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 2006.

5. Ed Norton is one actor who reminds us that the myth of the immensely private actor exist, especially when it comes to him. His rise in Hollywood came with a tremendous performance in Primal Fear (1996) as Aaron Stampler. He quickly caused Hollywood to take notice with amazing portrayals in two controversial films The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) as Alan Isaacman and American History X (1998) as Derek Vinyard. He took punches to the face with Brad Pitt in FIGHT CLUB (1999). He can be seen giving yet another breathtaking performance in The Illusionist (2006) as. Eisenheim.

4. Dijmon Hounsou entered the acting professional a little later in life then the other actors noted. He career begin on TV with roles in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) and Stargate (1994) as Horus. His breakthrough came under the direction of Steven Spielberg in Amistad (1997) as Cinque. He fast tracked to movie stardom as a slave/fighter in the epic film Gladiator 2000) as Juba. He can be seen delivering what can only be described as intensifying and powerful performance as Solomon Vandy in Blood Diamond (2006).

3. Joaquin Phoenix burst onto the silver screen in the late eighty in the Parenthood (1989) as Garry Buckman-Lampkin. He made a bigger in pack with his roles in Die For (1995) as Jimmy Emmett and 8MM (1999) .as Max California. However, it was his stunning performance as Commodus in Gladiator (2000) that made him a sought after movie star status actor. A mesmerizing performance in Walk the Line brought to life the magic and legend that is Johnny Cash. It was that perfect performance that won him a Golden Globe in 2006.

2. Josh Hartnett was launched into the heart and minds of many as John Tate in Halloween H20 (1998). The Faculty (1998) as Zeke Tyler and The Virgin Suicides (1999) as Trip Fontaine shown the raw talent and potential of Josh that was to come. It is his action packed performances in Pearl Harbor (2001) as Capt. Danny Walker and Black Hawk Down that solidified him as a movie star. He provides adorable comedic timing as Matt Sullivan in 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002). With films roles like Sin City (2005) as The Man and The Black Dahlia l(2006) as Ofcr. Dwight 'Bucky' Bleichert to his filmography, the longevity of this actor is assured.

1. Leonardo DiCaprio is at the top on the list of Hollywood's actors. He began his acting career on Santa Barbara from 1984 to 1990, but emerged in the 90's on TV shows like Parenthood (1990) and Roseanne (1991). It was not long before he was taken the silver screen by storm in Critters 3(1991) as Josh, What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993, Romeo and Juliet (1996) as Romeo. It was films like Titanic (1996) as Jack Dawson, Beach (2000/2001) as Richard, and Gangs of New York (2002) as Amsterdam Vallon that catapulted him to movie star status. He has melted our hearts in Catch Me If You Can (2002) as Frank Abagnale Jr. and wowed us in the Aviator (2004) as Howard Hughes. He can be seen delivering powerful performances in The Departed (2006) as Billy Costigan and Blood Diamond (2006) as Danny Archer both for which he has received Golden Globe nominations.

(taken from: here)

Speculation mounts for new iPhone

2008-06-07T11:29:00.001+07:00

Apple fans are waiting with bated breath - and a seemingly unending supply of rumours - for the iPhone Version 2.

The iPhone Version 1 was launched in the US in June 2007 to widespread tech hysteria.

Version 2 is widely expected to be unleashed at Apple's WorldWide Developers Conference that starts on 9 June.

The blogosphere is already red hot with speculation. Most think the new version will run on 3G, with the more pedantic design watchers predicting it will be slightly fatter as a result due to the need for a bigger battery.

Others predict a bigger camera, video-calling capacities and a GPS (Global Positioning System) chip built in.

Huge influence

Ben Wood, director of analyst firm CCS Insight, goes further, predicting that a blue button on the phone will link directly through to Apple's application store, with access to games, calculators, currency converters, screen-savers and ringtones.

"We predict this will become the most popular mobile applications store ever launched," he said.

Apple has a tendency to offer something no-one expected and such a "sting in the tail" is also possible thinks Mr Wood.

Possible other "stings" include a hybrid iPhone Nano, a new partnership with a big internet brand or capacity for mobile TV.

Of course the biggest surprise would be no announcement at all, but even if the rumours turn out to be premature, there is no doubting the influence of the first iPhone.

Data usage has grown exponentially since the iPhone launched with all operators seeing a huge ramp up in the amount of non-voice traffic.

"In the last six months we have seen continuing demand for these services and have improved our own mobile browsing and music download services to meet this demand," said Richard Warmsley, head of Beyond Voice at T-Mobile.

CCS Insight predicts that 218 million Europeans will be browsing on mobile devices by 2010.

"Apple has done an amazing job. It was its first ever mobile phone and it has managed to reshape the market and how people interact with their mobiles," said Mr Wood.

Younger generation

So-called smartphones have been slow to take off and, for a long time, remained a must-have only for corporate workers.

Tony Cripps, senior analyst with research firm Ovum, thinks that expectations of mobile connectivity have changed over the last year to the extent that the term "smartphone" is largely "redundant".

"A lot more devices can access the web and there is a huge range of services which people want from e-mail, search, maps and social networking.

"The younger generation now expect all of these on their mobiles as standard," he said.

Currently, the price of the iPhone puts it out of the range of many younger consumers, but some think the new version, whenever it is announced, will come with new pricing models.

The mobile market in Europe, where operators routinely subsidise the price of handsets, has meant that the high-priced iPhones have sold in much smaller quantities than in the US.

Five million iPhones have been sold but less than 350,000 of these were shifted in Europe, says research firm Jupiter.

Change in tactics

"The question has to be asked to what extent Apple can succeed without embracing the traditional mobile eco-system," said Jupiter analyst Thomas Husson.

Mr Woods believes the iPhone Version 2 could change the way Apple does business with the mobile operators.

"Some level of subsidy is likely to be available and operators are going to be allowed to set the price to some extent, although there are bound to be guidelines from Apple which will not want to endanger its lucrative iPod business," he said.

The era of exclusivity, where just one operator per country rolled out the iPhone, is already changing. Vodafone and TIM are both due to launch the iPhone in Italy later this year.

Vodafone has also signed up to deliver the iPhone in Australia, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, South Africa and Turkey.

In markets such as Italy, where 90% of the market is pre-paid, it is likely non-contract handsets will be available, thinks Mr Wood.

The change in tactics is down in part to the unexpected number of people unlocking their iPhones to work on any network.

For the hard-core Apple fans the price of the next generation device comes second to its new specs, but not everyone is so excited by the whole iPhone phenomenon.

Catching up

Microsoft's anticipation is, as one would expect, lukewarm.

About Version 1, director of Windows Mobile, John Starkweather said: "If it didn't have an Apple logo, it would have been long forgotten."

He maintains that Apple is still playing catch-up with the rest of the smartphone market.

"This year sees their first 3G phone to market. We have had 3G-enabled phones since the first networks were built and we will sell 20m new Windows Mobile phones in 2008," he said.

The numbers put the market share of the iPhone into perspective, but as more and more copycat iPhone handsets come on the market, the influence of its look is undisputed, even by Microsoft.

"Apple is good at design," conceded Mr Starkweather.

(taken from: here)

IBM aims to cool chips with water

2008-06-07T11:12:00.005+07:00

A network of tiny pipes of water could be used to cool next-generation PC chips, researchers at IBM have said.

Scientists at the firm have shown off a prototype device layered with thousands of "hair-width" cooling arteries.

They believe it could be a solution to the increasing amount of heat pumped out by chips as they become smaller and more densely packed with components.

The technology was demonstrated in IBM's 3D chips, where circuits are stacked one on top of the other.

Laying chips vertically, instead of side by side, reduces the distance data has to travel , enhancing performance and saving critical space.

"As we package chips on top of each other....we have found that conventional coolers attached to the back of a chip don't scale," explained Thomas Brunschwiler at IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory.

"In order to exploit the potential of high-performance 3D chip stacking, we need interlayer cooling."

Cool running

Heat is seen as one of the major hurdles of producing ever smaller and quicker chips.

It is the by-product of the movement of electrons through the tiny wires connecting the millions of components on a modern processor.

As more and more components are packed on to chips - Intel recently launched a processor with two billion transistors, for example - the problems become worse.

As a result, researchers around the world are engaged in a search for the most efficient way to take the heat off the chip industry.

For example, in 2007, US researchers built tiny wind engines that created a "breeze" made up of charged particles, or ions, to cool computer chips.

But the problems are exacerbated in the multi-storey chips which IBM, as well as others, believe offer "one of the most promising approaches" for building future processors.

Each 4 sq cm sandwich is just 1mm thick but pumps out close to 1kilowatt - 10 times that generated by a hotplate.

Conventional cooling techniques such as fans and heat sinks do not work as well with the 3D technology, particularly as heat has to be drawn away from between the individual chips.

To get around this, researchers piped water through sealed tubes just 50 microns (millionths of a metre) in diameter, between individual layers.

Water is much more efficient than air at absorbing heat and so even with tiny amounts of liquid flowing through the system the researchers saw a significant effect.

The idea of pumping liquids around computers is not entirely new. Early mainframe computers had water pumped around them.

High end computers have been "modded" for a number of years with water coolers and various researchers and companies have put forward proposals for directly cooling chips with fluids.

In 2003, Stanford University spin-out company Cooligy showed off its Active Micro-Channel Cooling (AMC) technology which allowed fluids to circulate through hundreds of tiny channels on the upper surface of a chip.

The technology was used in some versions of Apple's Power Mac G5 desktop computer, released in 2004.

IBM has said its water-cooling technology could be in products within five years.

(taken from: here)

R Kelly witness extortion claim

2008-06-07T11:05:00.001+07:00

A key witness in the R Kelly child pornography trial attempted to extort money from the singer, a court in Chicago has heard.

Private Investigator Jack Palladino said the woman and her fiance used "coded language" to request a pay-off in return for changing her evidence.

The witness, Lisa Van Allen, claims to have taken part in sex sessions with R Kelly and an underage girl.

Her testimony is central to the prosecution case against the star.

Mr Palladino is known for his work on celebrity cases. In particular, undermining the credibility of witnesses.

He is said to have been responsible for "digging dirt" on several women who claimed to have slept with Bill Clinton.

He told the court he was employed by Kelly's defence team in 2002, soon after the emergence of a sex tape said to show the singer with a 14-year-old girl - which the singer denies.

Book deal

Mr Palladino said he met Lisa Van Allen, along with her fiance Yul Brown, in Atlanta, Georgia in March 2008.

"I knew their history. I wanted to give them the opportunity to commit crime," he said.

He told the jury that Ms Van Allen claimed to have a $300,000 (£150,000) book deal.

"I believed it was a coded way of getting money from my client," said Mr Palladino.

"They also said they wanted to do what was best for their family and that I should go and talk to our client."

Intimidation

Prosecution attorney Robert Heilingoetter mocked Mr Palladino's interpretation of events: "They said that? How dare they. That's extortion at its best.

"I'm trying to work out where this alleged extortion is, except between your ears."

Giving evidence earlier in the week, Lisa Van Allen said that Mr Palladino had attempted to intimidate her and her fiance.

Questioned about the claim, the private investigator replied: "I don't think Mr Brown is a man who is easily intimidated."

The court in Chicago also heard from an expert in forensic video analysis.

Defence witness Dr Charles Palm was asked if he was able to identify R Kelly as the man who appears in the sex tape.

He replied that it seemed to be a different person because a mole on the singer's back was missing in the video footage.

His testimony contradicted that of forensic video expert and prosecution witness Grant Fredericks, who took the stand earlier in the trial.

Video editing

He said that R Kelly's mole was visible on the tape.

The jury watched as Dr Palm picked through part of the video, frame by frame, attempting to support his view.

He also demonstrated a number of video editing techniques which he claimed could have been used to fabricate the sex tape on a relatively low budget.

Dr Palm claimed a fake could have been made for a quarter of a million dollars, but admitted it would need the kind of equipment used by Hollywood film studios.

R Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, denies 14 counts of making and owning child pornography.

If convicted, the 41-year-old faces up to 15 years in jail.

(taken from: here)

MS Live Search Toolbar Will Be Default on HP Computers

2008-06-04T22:10:00.001+07:00

Microsoft has announced that it has made a deal with Hewlett Packard, the world’s largest computer manufacturer, to distribute its Live Search Toolbar as a default on all the computers that the company will sell in the US and Canada.

Until now, HP computers were shipped with Yahoo as the default internet search engine. The agreement reminds of Microsoft’s failed attempt to acquire Yahoo! Inc. in a bid of more that $47 million, and the Redmond based company’s statement saying that after the negotiations came to a stop it would seek new ways to enhance its presence in the search related advertising market.

The toolbar that will be shipped with the HP computers will be built using Microsoft’s Silverlight Technology and will allow users to preview websites without leaving the web page they would be on. In addition to this, there will be shortcuts to some of HP’s web services, like its online photo service Snapfish.

The software giant has shown increasing interest in the growing search related ads market, where Google is by far the biggest player. In the last year, the three most used search engines in the US were Google, handling more that 60 percent of the requests, Yahoo, with about 20 percent and Microsoft with barely 10 percent.

Google has also made a similar deal with computer company Dell to sell its laptops with the company’s search page as the default one.

Microsoft said it expects the deal to make a large number of persons use its search engine. Last year the online services department was the only one where Microsoft announced losses.

(taken from: here)

Bruce Willis in Kane & Lynch film talk

2008-06-04T21:43:00.002+07:00

Die Hard frontman Bruce Willis is negotiating to star in the big-screen adaptation of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.

If he nods his bald head, Willis will fill the boots of Kane, according to Variety. Kane is the Death Row escapee you controlled in the videogame late last year.

Willis was linked with the project in 2007, alongside Lynch hopeful Billy Bob Thornton. Variety makes no mention of him, but says a co-star is still being sought. We recommend Waingro out of HEAT and you know we're right.

Stunt boffin Simon Crane will be making his directorial debut in Kane & Lynch. He was assistant director on other Eidos film effort Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life in 2003, and has filled the same position on X-Men 3 and Terminator 3 since.

Other relative newcomer Kyle Ward will be penning the script for it. Ward was described as the hottest new writer in Hollywood last year by the LA Times, after his first screenplay Fiasco Heights was sold to Universal and attracted the attention of producer Michael Bay.

Game developer IO Interactive is no stranger to the big screen, of course, as its well-known Hitman series opened passably in cinemas last November. It had tits, swords and Desmond from Lost on drugs in it, and you can't say fairer than that.

Filming on Kane & Lynch is scheduled to start before the end of 2008.

(taken from: here)

France's Vieira sets Euro 2008 injury deadline

2008-06-04T20:12:00.002+07:00

France captain Patrick Vieira has given himself until the end of the week to prove his fitness for this summer's European Championships, which begin on Saturday.

The Internazionale midfielder has been ruled out of France's opening Group C match, against Romania in Zurich on Monday, with a left thigh injury.

He was expected to be fit for Les Bleus' final two group games but, given his nagging injury problems this season, some are predicting his tournament could be over before it has even started.

Vieira, who revealed he has a 'little tear' in his thigh, knows the next few days will determine whether he has a role to play in this month's showpiece in Austria and Switzerland.

'It is nothing serious, but unfortunately it has happened at a bad time because every day counts now and the tournament is approaching,' the former Arsenal skipper told French television station TF1, prior to Les Bleus' 1-0 friendly win over Colombia in Paris.

'Now, what I have to do is try to recover as quickly as possible.

'If by the end of the week I am not training with the squad, that would mean I will not be participating in the Euros.

'But I am still optimistic.'

Mathieu Flamini, who will play for AC Milan next season, has been called up to train with France's 23-man squad and will come in as a replacement should Vieira be forced out of the tournament.

(taken from: here)

Italy's Cannavaro has successful ankle surgery

2008-06-04T20:04:00.003+07:00

Fabio Cannavaro had a successful operation on Wednesday to mend ankle ligaments he tore in Italy's first Euro 2008 training session.

The defender was ruled out of the tournament after being injured on Monday when he was tackled by team mate Giorgio Chiellini in a training session.

'The surgery lasted little more than half an hour and was perfectly successful,' the Italian soccer federation said in a statement after the Real Madrid player went under the knife at a clinic in Vienna.

Cannavaro, who said he expected to be out for a few months, will stay with the squad in Austria to offer support during the tournament. The federation said UEFA had given the 34-year-old a special accreditation for the finals.

He was replaced in the squad by Alessandro Gamberini although a decision on who will take over as captain has yet to be made.

Italy start their campaign against Netherlands in Berne on Monday before facing Romania and France in a tough Group C.

(taken from: here)

Direct Brain Control Of Robot Demonstrated

2008-06-04T19:44:00.002+07:00

A metal skullcap with electrodes sticking out has turned a sci-fi cliché into reality, with the wearer being able to control a robot's movements with thought power alone. University of Washington researcher, Rajesh Rao, has demonstrated that an individual can "order" the robot to move to specific locations and pick up specific objects merely by generating the proper brain wave instructions.

"This is really a proof-of-concept demonstration," Rao said, when he presented his results at the Current Trends in Brain-Computer Interfacing meeting. "It suggests that one day we might be able to use semi-autonomous robots for such jobs as helping disabled people or performing routine tasks in a person's home."

The controlling individual (a graduate student in the demonstration) wears a cap dotted with 32 electrodes which pick up brain signals from the scalp based on a technique called electroencephalography. The person watches the robot's movements on a computer screen via two cameras, one mounted on the robot and another above it, and "thinks" which way the robot should move.

Currently, the "thought commands" are limited to a few basic instructions; choosing one of two available objects, picking it up, and carrying it to one of two locations. Impressively, preliminary results show 94 percent accuracy in choosing the correct object.

"One of the important things about this demonstration is that we're using a 'noisy' brain signal to control the robot," Rao explained. "The technique for picking up brain signals is non-invasive, but that means we can only obtain brain signals indirectly from sensors on the surface of the head, and not where they are generated deep in the brain. As a result, the user can only generate high-level commands such as indicating which object to pick up or which location to go to, and the robot needs to be autonomous enough to be able to execute such commands."

The research team has plans to extend the research to use more complex objects and equip the robot with skills such as avoiding obstacles in a room. Rao also wants to make the robot's behavior more adaptive to the environment, which means the robot's programming must enable some kind of learning to occur.

Check out some video of the robot in action.

Source: University of Washington

(taken from: here)

Have You Hugged Your Robot Today?

2008-06-04T19:37:00.003+07:00

Earlier this month, Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy announced that it was drafting a set of ethical guidelines, called the "Robot Ethics Charter" for robot producers, users and the robots themselves. "How quaint," I thought, until further research revealed that not only were they serious about the charter, but that other futurists and AI experts are at this very moment diligently working toward establishing equal rights for robots. Have these guys got too much time on their hands? Are they getting a little too, ahem, close to their robotic creations? Or could their ethical deliberations really be warranted?

Oddly enough, none of the electro-mechanical devices that I've kicked, hurled, or stomped on after they've deviated from their promised function have tried to plead their case. So, unless they're specifically programmed to do so, is it ever likely that robots will have anything like an understanding of fairness or abuse? Patrick Watt, from Melbourne's Scienceworks Museum, claimed on Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio recently that robots would one day come to understand the way that we treat them - but not in the same way that a human would.

"I think they will understand abuse and know what abuse is, but it will only be because sensors have been triggered and they have been told, or programmed to understand, what those things are, but they won't understand them, they won't intuitively know," said Watt. "So to think that a machine will have feelings and will be 'sad' because you've mistreated it - I can't see that happening in the near future." But this argument only holds so long as we clutch on to the idea that human feelings and robotic algorithms are absolutely distinct.

The Robot Industry Division of Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy claims that intelligent robots, or androids, may be common within the next 50 years. "The [charter] anticipates the day when robots, particularly intelligent service robots, could become a part of daily life as greater technological advancements are made." So the charter sets out on one level to prevent robot manufacturers creating robots that intentionally do harm to humans, while on another level attempts to cater for robots that may one day possess some kind of Asimov-ish positronic brain.

In Asimov's science fiction stories, the positronic brain – inspired by the then newly discovered positron particle – referred to robotic brains that provided an automaton with a consciousness identifiable to humans. While fictional, the positronic brain reflects the ultimate aspiration for a great many robotics and AI experts worldwide. Robots equipped with such a consciousness, or self-awareness, led Asimov to devise his now famous 3 Laws Of Robotics that robots must obey:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Questions surrounding these laws have been a topic of interest since Asimov's short stories Runaround, I, Robot and his novella The Bicentennial Man, with the latter two inspiring movies going by the same names. Since then, many a brain-box has wondered how best to make robots with human safety foremost on their "minds," but as AI development continues to muddle along, the question has now turned to how we humans should treat robots.

In this respect, Asimov's laws just don't seem to cut it, especially when you take into consideration predictions made by the Korean charter: "In the 21st century humanity will coexist with the first alien intelligence we have ever come into contact with – robots... it will be an event rich in ethical, social and economic problems."

The 3 Laws Unsafe web project, run by the not-for-profit Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, says that robot laws such as Asimov's are unethical right off the bat, since they restrict a trait that is perceived to be inextricably linked to sentience: free will. And if we are to be living and working amongst our riveted friends, then the distinction between programmed and self-generated ethics really is an important distinction, argue the 3 Laws Unsafe group. "Rather than content-based restrictions on free will, robots need mental structures that will guide them towards the self-invention of good, ethical behaviors." Importantly, this would mean that robots would need brains that have both the capacity and the motivation for self-directed learning.

The 3 Laws Unsafe group are not alone in their vision. Computer scientist David Bruemmer, from the Idaho National Laboratory, says that: "If we do want humanoids to be truly reliable and useful, they must be able to adapt and develop... humanoids must play some role as arbiters of their own development."

But just how does Bruemmer suggest that this is to be accomplished; how can such development be motivated? Bruemmer explains that emotions implement motivational systems, which in turn compel us to work, reproduce, and basically survive. Many of the emotions that we perceive as "weaknesses," says Bruemmer, have an important biological purpose. "Thus, if we want useful, human-like robots, we will have to give them some motivational system," he explains. "We may choose to call this system "emotion" or we may reserve that term for ourselves and assert that humanoids are merely simulating emotion using algorithms whose output controls facial degrees of freedom, tone of voice, body posture, and other physical manifestations of emotion." It remains to be seen whether robots will adopt our love for euphemism.

It seems, perhaps oddly, that the underlying reasons behind a robot ethics charter begin and end with humans instilling robots with emotions worthy of having an ethical charter in the first place. It's a complicated and circuitous argument, but if we take at face value the idea that a robot's worth is based on its ability to self-learn, and that this ability is reliant upon motivations driven by something equivalent to human emotions, then it all makes perfect sense... not! Of course, in an overpopulated world with high unemployment, it also begs the question as to why we'd build them in the first place, let alone create an ethics charter for them. Then again, there's always the possibility that in building these emotionally-enabled 'bots we may learn something important about our own humanity.

(taken from: here)

Small Penis Syndrome A Big Problem?

2008-06-04T19:31:00.002+07:00

Does size matter? It does to men, according to this month's BJU International, which contains a review of over sixty years worth of research into penile size and small penis syndrome. The researchers, Dr Kevan Wylie from Royal Hallamshire Hospital, UK, and Mr Ian Eardley from St James' Hospital, UK, found that men can experience real anxiety - even if they are of average size. And while men often have greater confidence if they have a large penis, women don't necessarily feel that bigger is better, citing looks and personality as more important than penis size.

Drawing together the results of 12 studies that measured the penises of more than 11,000 men, the researchers established that average erect penises ranged from 14-16cms (5.5 to 6.2 inches) in length and 12-13cm (4.7 to 5.1 inches) in girth. They noted that there was little evidence of racial differences influencing size, although one Korean study recorded smaller than average-sized penises. The researchers, however, questioned the accuracy of this study and suggested further investigation was required.

Dr Wylie says the review will provide doctors and other health professionals with an accurate summary of the many studies that have been carried out in the past into penile size and size-related syndrome. "It is very common for men to worry about the size of their penis and it is important that these concerns aren't dismissed as this can heighten concerns and anxieties," he explained. "It is helpful to normalize the situation and provide as much accurate information as possible, as many men either lack any information or have been misinformed."

Key findings of the review included:

A survey taking in 50,000 heterosexual men and women found that while 85 percent of the women were satisfied with their partner's penile size, only 55 percent of the men were satisfied.
Factors that make a male attractive to a woman were numerous, but penile size was not the most important factor for women. Several studies indicated that around 90 percent of women prefer a wide penis to a long one.
Somewhat counter-intuitively, small penis syndrome is much more common in men with average-sized penises than those men suffering from micropenis.
Men afflicted by small penis syndrome typically cite childhood comparisons and erotic imagery as the main contributing factors to their anxiety.
Interestingly, on average, homosexual men had larger penises than heterosexual men. The researchers suggest that exposure to male reproductive hormones in the womb may be one explanation for this disparity.

Techniques used by men to enhance the size of their penis were also covered in the review. The Topinama men of Brazil practice what is perhaps the most bizarre method, encouraging poisonous snakes to bite their penises to enlarge them.

The researchers said that evidence for the effectiveness of more popular (but mundane) enlargement methods - such as jelqing exercises and traction devices - was limited, but they noted that patients may experience psychological benefits from their use.

They authors are, however, very cautious when it comes to treating a psychological condition like small penis syndrome with gadgets or surgery. "There is poorly documented evidence to support the use of penile extenders, and while information is starting to emerge on the success of some surgical techniques, this is not backed up by data on patients' satisfaction with such procedures," stressed Dr Wylie.

In summary, the researchers said that small penis syndrome should be approached via a thorough urological, psychosexual, psychological and psychiatric assessment. "Conservative approaches to therapy, based on education and self-awareness, as well as short-term structured psychotherapies, are often successful," they concluded.

(taken from: here)

Exercise Helps Keep Psyche Fit

2008-06-04T19:24:00.002+07:00

There are now more reasons than ever to get off the couch and to get moving. In addition to regular exercise promoting good health, a new review of psychological research shows that exercise is an effective but underused treatment for mild to moderate depression. The review, published in the June issue of Professional Psychology, also shows there is some evidence that regular exercise may help in the treatment of schizophrenia, alcohol dependence and as a singular treatment for some anxiety disorders and for people suffering from body image problems.

The authors reviewed studies since 1981 in which exercise was used as an intervention in treating individuals with the following clinically diagnosed psychiatric disorders: depression, anxiety, developmental disabilities, schizophrenia, psychosomatic disorders and substance abuse.

The review of research concludes that regular exercise is a viable, cost-effective treatment for mild to moderate depression and may be useful in the comprehensive treatment of more severe episodes of the disorder. Nonaerobic forms of exercise such as strength training are as effective as aerobic exercise in treating depression. The researchers also found that less strenuous forms of regular exercise, such as walking, may be sufficient to demonstrate significant treatment effects, however they note more research is needed to confirm this initial finding.

Other findings from the review include the following: Evidence that exercise is an effective short-term treatment for the reduction of disruptive behavior and for increasing work performance in some people with developmental disabilities.

Regular exercise appears to be a necessary ingredient in behavioral treatment programs that effectively reduce pain frequency and intensity in people with mild to moderate chronic pain Regular exercise is more effective than placebo pills, but not chlomipramine, in reducing symptoms of anxiety in patients with panic disorder.

Case studies suggest that regular exercise may be an important part of treatment programs for people with schizophrenia, although more research is needed to confirm that finding.

As for the role exercise may play in the treatment of alcohol dependence and smoking-cessation treatment programs, the evidence was inconclusive.

The researchers say there was some limited evidence that regular exercise may be an effective tool in the treatment for alcohol dependence, but more research is needed.

Considering the evidence that exercise is a viable, cost-effective treatment for depression and chronic pain, the researchers say they are somewhat surprised that it has not become a more popular treatment alternative and suggest that it be more commonly used as part of a therapist-structured treatment program.

(taken from: here)

Nvidia Aims at MIDs with New Tegra Processors

2008-06-02T21:37:00.002+07:00

On Monday, Nvidia formally launched its Tegra chip, an integrated CPU that the company is targeting at the Mobile Internet Device (MID) space.

Nvidia also lassoed the APX 2500, a chip that the company launched earlier this year for smartphones running the Windows Mobile operating system, and has rebranded it under the Tegra name. However, the new Tegra 600 and 650 will be Nvidia's focus as it tries to penetrate the MID space.

In some ways, the thrust toward integration in the compact mobile Internet device space is reminiscent of the early days of the integrated X86 processors, spearheaded by devices like the National Semiconductor Geode, a product later purchased by AMD. Intel has tried to create a market around its Atom processor and its Menlow platform, that Nvidia claims is too like a normal PC chipset, and therefore too complex and expensive.

"Historically, if you look at mobile computing, a MID is an attempt to basically take a mobile computer and make it smaller and smaller and smaller," said Mike Rayfield, general manager of Nvidia's mobile and handheld division. "It's like trying to dehydrate a notebook computer and turn it into a MID."

Instead, Nvidia started from the ground up, designing the Tegra to minimize power. The Tegra architecture, according to Rayfield, is 193 sq. mm including a peripheral chip; that's a tenth the size of the Menlow platform, he said. Assuming a battery of 30 watt/hours, the new Tegra chips can play back 720p video for 30 hours continuously.

Future generations of the Tegra line will continue to emphasize battery life, pushing up performance while maintaining idle power consumption under 10 milliwatts.

Instead of the Atom, an ARM11 core is at the heart of the Tegra, surrounded by audio and video decode engines as well as ultra-low-power GeForce graphics and peripheral blocks. The chip can be run either under the Windows CE or Windows Mobile operating systems.

Two versions of the Tegra will be available: the 600, which runs at 700 MHz, provides resolutions of up to 1280 x 1024 and can render up to 720p video; and the 700, which runs at 800 MHz, renders up to resolutions of 1680 x 1050 and can provide full 1080p playback.

According to Rayfield, the response to the MID concept has been "amazing": "We really think that there is something there," he said. Personally, Nvidia refers to it as a "lifestyle" PC, one that can do some light work on the road, but is really geared more toward entertainment. An HDMI interface could also be bolted on to allow playback of hi-def videos in a hotel room, he said.

(taken from: here)

Garuda 'surprised' by EU ban extension

2008-06-02T17:04:00.000+07:00

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia was surprised to hear the European Commission's decision to extend the ban on the airline from entering European territory, the airline claiming to have carried out the necessary measures to improve safety.

Last Friday, the EU decided Garuda and other Indonesian airlines would remain blacklisted, saying Indonesian authorities and Garuda were yet "to demonstrate they had completed the corrective actions".

"Pending both this demonstration and the completion of remedial action by Garuda and the other airlines, it was decided that none of the Indonesian carriers could be withdrawn at this stage from the list," the EC said in a statement.

However, Garuda spokesman Pudjobroto said the decision was unexpected, especially after a Garuda delegation had informed the EU Commission on Transportation earlier this month of the progress it had made in its safety commitment.

"Garuda Indonesia was the only airline which had the opportunity to discuss safety improvements," he told The Jakarta Post.

He explained the delegation, spearheaded by President Director Emirsyah Sattar, met with the committee on April 3 in Brussels and claimed they were "impressed" with the airline.

"They acknowledged our changes and were happy we were about to receive a safety certificate from the IATA (International Air Transport Association)," he said, referring to International Operational Safety Certification (IOSA).

IATA is a group of 161 international airlines and Garuda is its sole Indonesian member.

An IOSA certificate recognizes the operation, maintenance, safety management, training and finance management of international standard airlines.

Pudjobroto said Garuda was set to receive the certificate next May, after going through 600 checks.

Indonesia was first on the EC's list in July last year after four deadly crashes, including one Garuda Boeing 737-400 in Yogyakarta on March 7, in which 21 passengers died and many others were injured.

The list of banned carriers, effective last Friday, includes those from Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Swaziland and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The EC said it would continue to closely monitor Garuda's corrective action progress.

(taken from: here)

Note exchange marks effective RI-Japan EPA

2008-06-02T16:52:00.000+07:00

Indonesia and Japan have effectively started bilateral economic cooperation under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) framework starting on July 1.

The head of the economic cooperation division at Japan's Foreign Affairs Ministry, Takahiro Wakabayashi, and the trade attache at Indonesia's Embassy in Japan, Tulus Budhianto, exchanged on Sunday diplomatic notes to mark the cooperation.

"From the agreement, Indonesia will get strategic benefits including the acknowledgment of our products and services in the international market," said Tulus as quoted by Antara.

"The start of the EPA will be marked by a deployment of a thousand Indonesian nurses and housekeepers to help look after the elderly in Japan," he said.

Signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Aug. 20, 2007 in Jakarta, the EPA is a comprehensive economic agreement involving cooperation in several economic sectors.

Development in trade, energy, mining and intellectual property rights are just among the key issues arranged in the EPA.

In addition, the EPA will also involve the cutting or elimination of various import tariffs, as well as the provision of business facilities for increasing Japanese investment in new sectors in Indonesia.

The EPA also includes capacity-building programs for Indonesian industry and manpower.

According to the Industry Ministry, the automotive, electronics and construction sectors will receive an immediate boost from the tariff cuts, as many Japanese investment commitments are in these sectors.

According to the Trade Ministry, bilateral trade last year reached US$30.15 billion, up 10.69 percent from $27.24 billion a year earlier. The increase was supported by high oil, gas and commodity prices.

Indonesia's exports to Japan stood at $23.63 billion in 2007, up from $21.73 billion in 2006, while its imports reached $6.52 billion, an 18.33 percent increase from $5.52 billion in the previous year.

Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu has said the EPA would sustain Japan's existing investment in the country and attract new investment in the future, with an estimated $65 billion in new ventures being offered up until 2010.

Indonesia is Japan's sixth partner of the EPA after Singapore, Mexico, Malaysia, Chile and Thailand, which have earlier inked similar deals.

(taken from: here)

The Future of Mobile Social Networking

2008-06-02T14:51:00.000+07:00

IPhone users will soon be able to enjoy Whrrl, software that combines activity recommendations with real-time location data.

When Steve Jobs strides onstage at Apple's annual developers conference on June 9, many will be expecting fireworks. Some industry analysts think Jobs will announce an iPhone upgrade, one that takes advantage of faster networks and includes new hardware, perhaps a GPS receiver. Jobs is also expected to demonstrate some third-party iPhone applications, available in June, which could include games that use the phone's accelerometer as a control, new mapping software, and quick ways to update profiles on social networks such as Facebook or MySpace.

One rising company that's hoping for a mention during the Steve Jobs Show is Pelago, a startup that recently garnered $15 million from funders, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. Pelago will soon offer a version of its software, called Whrrl, for the iPhone. The software enables something Pelago's chief technology officer, Darren Erik Vengroff, calls social discovery: using the iPhone's map and self-location features, as well as information about the prior activities of the user's friends, Whrrl proposes new places to explore or activities to try.

"If you think about your day-to-day life and how you discover things around you and places to go, to a great extent the source of that information is your friends," Vengroff says. With Whrrl, a user can "look through the eyes of friends and see the places they find compelling." The software begins with the user's position on the iPhone's map and indicates a smattering of nearby establishments. If the user's friends have visited and rated these places, the software indicates that as well. The map also shows the positions of nearby friends who have enabled a feature that lets them be seen by others.

Whrrl may turn out to be the leading edge of a wave of new location-based applications. "I think we're going to see a lot of new players showing up in this space," says Kurt Partridge, a research scientist at the Palo Alto Research Center who works on a similar project called Magitti. "Part of the reason," he says, "is the universal availability of GPS or access to location, which hasn't been available to application writers before." The iPhone and Nokia's N95 phone are two examples of phones that provide location data to computer programmers. Google's forthcoming Android mobile operating system may also help push location-based applications onto the market.

The idea of community-generated reviews is, of course, not new. The popular recommendation service Yelp, for example, is already integrated into Google Maps. And the concept of locating friends using a mobile phone has also been around for years; Loopt, a service that runs on Sprint and Boost Mobile phones, is one of the most common examples. Whrrl, which can also be downloaded onto BlackBerry Pearl, Curve, and Nokia N95 smart phones, is commonly compared to both types of service. But it differs from either in that it combines aspects of both. In addition, Vengroff explains, Whrrl has collected details on establishments in 17 cities, which allows the service to provide fine-tuned local search, letting the user narrow down the hunt for, say, a café to one that has outdoor seating and vegetarian options and is recommended by at least one friend.

While the possibilities presented by Whrrl are exciting to many, its mass appeal has yet to be established. First, the location data might not be fine-grained enough to be useful in all cases, so it could lead to false positives. The iPhone relies on data from Skyhook Wireless, a company that uses an enormous database of the locations of Wi-Fi base stations to locate a person within about 30 meters; GPS, however, could do much better. Also, Whrrl is most useful when members of the user's social network actively contribute reviews. This requires that the user's friends have smart phones--and the motivation to critique the places they go.

Still, the biggest obstacle faced by services like Whrrl is privacy concerns. Vengroff points out that users control whom the program lists as their friends, who can read their reviews, and who can see their physical locations. The software also offers a "cloaking" feature that lets a person become completely invisible to his or her entire Whrrl network.

"Generally, if you give people more control, they're more willing to participate," says Tanzeem Choudhury, a professor of computer science at Dartmouth College. However, some people are still concerned about how long the company will store information about its customers' locations. Choudhury says that these first-generation services will likely be used by small groups of early adopters who are more aware than most of potential privacy risks and will push companies to confront them.

Regardless, Choudhury and others are excited about the potential of services such as Whrrl. In the future, she suspects, location-based services will include more predictive features. For instance, instead of explicitly requiring you to write a review, the software might recognize how often you visit a restaurant and infer that it is a favorite. "Eventually, I think that a whole lot of exciting technology will emerge that figures out how to reduce the burden on the user," Choudhury says. "There will always be the case where user input will be important, but when we find the sweet spot, that's when I think it will take off."

(taken from: here)

Ferguson takes stand on Ronaldo

2008-06-02T14:47:00.000+07:00

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says the club would rather put Cristiano Ronaldo in the stands than sell him to Real Madrid.

United have threatened to report Real to Fifa over their publicly declared interest in signing Ronaldo.

Ferguson has met the Glazer family, who own the club, and said: "Their attitude is 'To hell with them'.

"They'd sit a player in the stand, I'm telling you, absolutely no doubt about it, just to prove a point."

Ronaldo, 23, is currently with the Portugal squad ahead of Euro 2008 after a season in which he inspired the Old Trafford club to a Premier League and Champions League double.

He has a deal with United, which runs until 2012 but has refused to state publicly that he is to stay with the club.

Real Madrid manager Bernd Schuster has made no secret about his admiration for Ronaldo.

But the Spanish outfit's president Ramon Calderon has defended their conduct, saying recently: "We know they [United] aren't a selling club. It is a problem between player and team."

Ferguson insists that the Glazers are determined to keep their prize asset, even if it means taking a tough line.

And, despite criticism of the Glazers when they took over the club in 2005, Ferguson praised them for the impact they have had at the club.

"They have been good to this club, believe me," he said. "They have been brilliant owners."

(taken from: here)

Robben, Sneijder score to secure happy send-off to Euro 2008 for Dutch team

2008-06-02T14:39:00.000+07:00

Real Madrid teammates Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder scored Sunday to give the Netherlands a 2-0 win over Wales in its send-off game for the European Championship.

With a dash of sheer pace in the 35th minute, Robben picked up a loose ball in midfield, took the square Welsh defense by surprise and coolly slotted the ball under goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.

Sneijder doubled the score in the 53rd with a curling free kick from 24 meters that sailed in the upper right corner.

It was enough for a rousing goodbye by 50,000 fans on Dutch soil as Oranje heads for Switzerland. It was the last home game for Netherlands goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who ends his international career after the tournament, and coach Marco van Basten, who moves to Ajax next season.

For some spells, the Dutch produced the famed "Clockwork Orange" play, with cocky moves from Robben and creative midfield passes from Rafael van der Vaart and Sneijder.

"At times, we played very good soccer," said Van Basten.

At times, Robben's confidence bordered on selfishness as he squandered a couple of chances from tight angles while teammates were fully open in the center.

He admitted as much, but was still the standout player of the day.

"I'm ready for it," Robben said. "I have been out for a while and now I'm ready. I feel very fit and very strong."

The Dutch team didn't have to count on center forward Ruud van Nistelrooy, who completes the Madrid creative triangle but had an indifferent game.

"You have to see they were standing with six men around him," Van Basten said of Van Nistelrooy.

The Dutch arrive at their camp in Lausanne on Tuesday and will have Arsenal winger Robin van Persie training with the group for the first time after a prolonged thigh injury. It will open up the offensive options even further.

Despite its physical strength, Wales lacked the fundamental skills to pressure the defense, leaving it unclear how the much-criticized Dutch back four will stand up to the firepower of Italy on June 9.

The Dutch also play France and Romania in Group C, which looks to be the toughest of the four groups.

In three preparation games, though, including a 3-0 win over Ukraine and a 1-1 draw with Denmark, the Dutch defense has conceded a single goal.

In the second half, Van Basten changed half his team. The industrious Dirk Kuyt certainly proved to be a valuable asset for high-pressure matches.

In the first half, Orlando Engelaar again left a good impression as a controlling midfielder, increasing the chances that the FC Twente player, with only five international appearance, will be facing the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso in a week's time.

-----------

Lineups:

Netherlands: Edwin van der Sar, Andre Ooijer, John Heitinga (Nigel de Jong, 46), Joris Mathijsen (Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, 79), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Tim de Cler, 46), Demy de Zeeuw (Mario Melchiot, 46), Orlando Engelaar (Dirk Kuyt, 46), Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart (Ibrahim Affelay, 66), Arjen Robben, Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

Wales: Wayne Hennessey, Sam Riccketts (Andrew Crofts, 77), Lewin Nyatana, Ashley Williams, Craig Morgan, Chris Gunter, David Edwards (Ched Evans, 56), Carl Robinson (Jack Collison, 46), Jason Koumas (Sam Vokes, 73), Joe Ledley (Neal Eardley, 88), Freddy Eastwood (Craig Bellamy, 56).

(taken from: here)

Summer transfers: a club-by-club guide

2008-06-02T14:23:00.000+07:00

Arsenal

Great expectations
If Arsène Wenger has an ambitious transfer target, it may be Micah Richards, the Manchester City defender who supported Arsenal as a boy. Yaya Touré, of Barcelona, has been mentioned to replace Mathieu Flamini as the holding midfield player, but when has Wenger resigned a player he released?

Reality check
Wenger is more likely to promote Alexandre Song to third-choice centre back than buy an expensive defender. Samir Nasri, the attacking midfield player, is expected to join from Marseilles for £12.8 million. He follows Francis Coquelin, 17, a midfield player, who joined from Laval on a free transfer. Wenger is monitoring Blaise Matuidi, the St-Etienne midfield player, and has watched Dani Güiza, the Real Mallorca forward, who was top scorer in La Liga last season.

On their way out
Nasri’s arrival indicates that Alexander Hleb will be allowed to leave. Gilberto Silva, 31, the midfield player, has a year left on his contract and could depart.

Preseason matches
July 19: Barnet (a).
July 30: VfB Stuttgart (a).
Aug 2: Juventus (h).
Aug 3: Real Madrid (h).
Aug 6: Huddersfield Town (a).

Aston Villa

Great expectations
Thierry Henry may get more of a regular game at Villa Park than at the Nou Camp. Joe Hart, Wayne Hennessey, Carlo Cudicini, Jussi Jaaskelainen, Ben Foster – and that’s just the goalkeepers.

Reality check
Steve Sidwell and Shaun Wright-Phillips could be enticed from Chelsea and James Milner could return from Newcastle United. If Foster is not available on loan from Manchester United, Brad Guzan, the United States goalkeeper, is still a target. Villa’s new right back may be Giourkas Seitaridis, of Atlético Madrid, or Hugo Campagnaro, of Sampdoria. Tom Huddlestone and Aaron Lennon, of Tottenham Hotspur, Habib Habibou, of Charleroi, and Peter Crouch, John Arne Riise and Jermaine Pennant, of Liverpool, are also targets.

On their way out
Marlon Harewood is wanted by Stoke City and Fulham while Shaun Maloney could join Sunderland. Olof Mellberg has left for Juventus and Patrik Berger has rejoined Sparta Prague. Gareth Barry?

Preseason matches
July 19-20: Intertoto Cup third qualifying round, first leg.
July 26-27: Second leg: opposition to be confirmed.

Blackburn Rovers

Great expectations
Would like to break into the top four and the Champions League, and win a cup. First, need to keep Mark Hughes as manager, fending off the apparent attentions of Chelsea.

Reality check
They narrowly missed out on qualification for the Uefa Cup and Intertoto Cup last season, but could reach a Uefa competition if they can improve their consistency and finish higher than seventh in the league.

On their way out
Stéphane Henchoz, Bruno Berner and Peter Enckelman have been released. Maceo Rigters, the striker, is available while André Ooijer, the Holland defender, is frustrated at a lack of a regular first-team place.

Preseason matches
July 25: Benfica.
July 27: Sporting Lisbon (both at Vila Real, St António, Portugal).
Aug 2: Wolves (a).

Bolton Wanderers

Great expectations
Gary Megson, the manager, will revive his interest in Johan Elmander but is unlikely to be able to match Toulouse’s £16 million asking price for the forward. Sporting Lisbon are asking a similar fee for Miguel Veloso, the midfield player.

Reality check
Zoltan Gera, the West Bromwich Albion midfield player, is considering an offer from the club after becoming a free agent while Brian Howard, the Barnsley midfield player rated at £4 million, ranks high on Megson’s list of targets.

On their way out
El-Hadji Diouf is attracting interest from Marseilles and Manchester City and will be allowed to follow Iván Campo, Stelios Giannakopoulos and Andranik Teymourian out of the club if an offer of about £3 million is made for the Senegal player.

Preseason matches
July 25: Rochdale (a).
July 29: Tranmere Rovers (a).
Aug 1: Doncaster Rovers (a).

Chelsea

Great expectations
Roman Abramovich sees the light and José Mourinho has a last-minute change of heart and returns to Stamford Bridge, followed by Kaká, Lionel Messi and Fernando Torres.

Reality check
There is about £50 million for the new manager to spend. David Villa, the Valencia forward, is keen to move to London and Rafael van der Vaart, Karim Benzema, Dimitar Berbatov and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have been linked with the club.

On their way out
Paris Saint-Germain are interested in signing Claude Makelele. Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Steve Sidwell are expected to leave and there are question marks over the futures of Frank Lampard, Ricardo Carvalho, Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda, Tal Ben-Haim, Claudio Pizarro and Juliano Belletti.

Preseason matches
July 23: Guangzhou Pharmaceutical (a).
July 29: Malaysian XI (Kuala Lumpur).

Everton

Great expectations
The main priority of David Moyes, the manager, is to bring in a creative midfield player. Xabi Alonso would fit the bill perfectly but the prospect of the £16 million-rated Spaniard moving across the city is just about nil.

Reality check
Moyes has watched Michael Bradley, the United States midfield player who plies his trade in the Netherlands for Heerenveen, on numerous occasions and is also keen to bring Michael Johnson, the Manchester City midfield player, to Goodison Park.

On their way out
Thomas Gravesen has already returned to Celtic after his loan stint at Goodison while Moyes is also keen to offload Andy van der Meyde, the Dutch midfield player, who has a year left on his contract.
Preseason matches
July 19: Cambridge United (a).
July 22: Preston North End (a).
July 25: Nottingham Forest (a).
July 30: Chicago Fire (a).
Aug 3: Colorado Rapids (a).

Fulham

Great expectations
Louis Saha returns to Craven Cottage from Manchester United, Steve Finnan comes back from Liverpool and brings Harry Kewell with him, George Boateng follows Mark Schwarzer from Middlesbrough on a free transfer and West Ham United cut their losses and return Luis Boa Morte to sender.

Reality check
Some obscure Scandinavian players who turn out to be half-decent and Marlon Harewood – if Roy Hodgson can convince the Aston Villa striker to swap the West Midlands for West London.

On their way out
Ten players have been released, while Kasey Keller, the goalkeeper, Chris Baird, Moritz Volz, Gabriel Zakuani, Dejan Stefanovic, the defenders, Steven Davis, Lee Cook, Alexei Smertin, the midfield players, and Diomansy Kamara, Seol Ki Hyeon, Collins John and Hameur Bouazza, the forwards, are all available.

Preseason matches
July 19: Celtic (h).
July 23: FC Seoul (a).
July 26: Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i FC (a).
Aug 2: Birmingham City (a).

Hull City

Great expectations
None at all, really. Probably still surprised to be members of the most exclusive club in the world. Survival would be a memorable achievement, on a par with gaining promotion.

Reality check
A season of struggle lies ahead for Phil Brown, the manager, and his players, but they are unlikely to be as poor as Derby County. No one can be that bad again, surely.

On their way out
Brown should get one more campaign out of Dean Windass, the veteran striker, but the future of Craig Fagan is unclear. The forward spent the last three months of last season on loan from Derby. Mark Tyler and Simon Walton will leave.

Preseason matches
To be arranged.

Liverpool

Great expectations
Rafael BenÍtez, the manager, wants to bring in a world-class striker to complement Fernando Torres, who enjoyed an outstanding first season in the Premier League. Dimitar Berbatov, of Tottenham Hotspur, is likely to favour Manchester United ahead of Anfield.

Reality check
Having angered Martin O’Neill, the Aston Villa manager, by making public his admiration of Gareth Barry, the England midfield player, BenÍtez can expect to seal Barry’s signature before the start of the new season.

On their way out
Juventus have not been put off by the £16 million price tag for Xabi Alonso, while Peter Crouch, the forward, is moving closer to completing a move to Portsmouth. John Arne Riise, Jermaine Pennant and Scott Carson are also likely to be surplus to requirements.
Preseason matches
July 26: Rangers (a – tbc).
July 30: Villarreal (a).

Manchester City

Great expectations
Until Ronaldinho moves somewhere else, Thaksin Shinawatra, the owner, will hope to lure the Barcelona player and would also like to sign another Brazilian, Jô, from CSKA Moscow.

Reality check
All depends on who is in charge, but City could end up looking at the likes of Tal Ben-Haim, Steve Sidwell and Claudio Pizarro, of Chelsea, or El-Hadji Diouf, of Bolton Wanderers.

On their way out
Micah Richards, Joe Hart and Michael Johnson are all likely to be sought after, while Richard Dunne is definitely leaving along with a host of fringe players such as Sun Jihai, Emile Mpenza, Andreas Isaksson and Georgios Samaras.

Preseason matches
July 17 and 31: Uefa Cup first qualifying round.

Manchester United

Great expectations
Micah Richards, the Manchester City defender, may prove an optimistic target, with City loath to sell to their great rivals. Prising Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur may also be a costly exercise.

Reality check
Aaron Ramsey, the Cardiff City midfield player, could arrive as “one for the future”, but Daniel Alves, the Seville defender, and his teammate, LuÍs Fabiano, the forward, are top targets, despite expensive price tags.

On their way out
Bordeaux are ready to sign Mikaël Silvestre, the defender, while Louis Saha, the forward, is expected to go. Fringe players such as Chris Eagles and Jonny Evans are likely to follow Gerard Piqué, who has returned to Barcelona, out of the club.

Preseason matches
July 12: Aberdeen (a).
July 19: Kaizer Chiefs (Cape Town).
July 22: Orlando Pirates (Durban).
July 26: Winners of Kaizer Chiefs v Orlando Pirates (Pretoria).
Aug 2: Espanyol (h).
Aug 10: FA Community Shield: Portsmouth (Wembley).

Middlesbrough

Great expectations
Wage restraint is a theme at the Riverside Stadium, so ambitious targets such as Steve Sidwell, of Chelsea, may not materialise, but the club are focusing on the team ethic rather than hiring illustrious names for the sake of it.

Reality check
Should Gary O’Neil be sold, James Milner, of Newcastle United, will be targeted, while Zoltan Gera, of West Bromwich Albion, is available on a free transfer. Midfield is the priority.

On their way out
Mark Schwarzer, the long-serving goalkeeper, has joined Fulham, while Gaizka Mendieta, Fabio Rochemback and Lee Dong Gook have been released. George Boateng has been told he can leave, while O’Neil is unsettled on Teesside.

Preseason matches
July 18: York City (a).
July 22: Celtic (Algarve Stadium).
July 24: Vitória Guimarães (Algarve Stadium).
July 29: Carlisle United (a).
Aug 2: Hibernian (a).
Aug 5: Darlington (a).

Newcastle United

Great expectations
As always, high. Kevin Keegan wants three or four players to “light the place up”, but expenditure is likely to be limited to £20 million and directors are determined to reduce the wage bill. That rules out any nonsense regarding Thierry Henry.

Reality check
The manager fancies the proven experience of Richard Dunne, of Manchester City, and John Arne Riise, of Liverpool, but Newcastle cannot offer European football and face stiff competition. Dennis Wise’s scouting team are keen to sign young foreign players with a potential sell-on value.

On their way out
Stephen Carr, James Troisi, Lamine Diatta and Peter Ramage have been released. Emre Belözoglu has joined Fenerbahçe, Shola Ameobi is expected to leave and Charles N’Zogbia may follow.

Preseason matches
Aug 9: Valencia (h).

Portsmouth

Great expectations
Harry Redknapp has denied that there has been any contact with Liverpool about Peter Crouch, but the manager has admitted that Richard Dunne, of Manchester City, is a target. But so are Shaun Wright-Phillips and Wayne Bridge, of Chelsea, Sidney Govou, of Lyons, John Mensah, of Rennes. And Crouch, of course.

Reality check
Younès Kaboul has not impressed at Tottenham Hotspur but is a long-time target for Redknapp. Nathan Dyer (Southampton), Danny Haynes (Ipswich Town), Jonás Gutiérrez (Real Mallorca), Edu (Valencia) and Achille Emana (Toulouse) are also on his list. Reports in Israel suggest that Ben Sahar, the Chelsea and Israel forward, will spend the season on loan at Fratton Park.

On their way out
Redknapp does not have to sell, but David Nugent is surplus to requirements. Sean Davis may look elsewhere for first-team chances.

Preseason matches
July 16: Exeter City (a).
July 18: Swindon Town (a).
July 21 or 22: Bournemouth (a).
July 23 or 24: Manchester United (National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria).
Aug 10: FA Community Shield, Manchester United (Wembley).

Stoke City

Great expectations
Kevin Phillips, out of contract at West Bromwich Albion, and Marlon Harewood, a £4 million substitute at Aston Villa, would constitute a reasonable front pairing for a newly promoted club. Middlesbrough want to keep Chris Riggott.

Reality check
Jay Bothroyd is available from Wolverhampton Wanderers after finishing last season on loan with Stoke. Guirane Ndaw, a midfield player with Sochaux, is also on Tony Pulis’s radar.

On their way out
Marlon Broomes, Russell Hoult and Dominic Matteo have been released, while the loan signings that Pulis made late last season, Stephen Pearson and Shola Ameobi, may have served their purpose in bringing the best out of other players in the squad.

Preseason matches
July 18: Newcastle Town (a).
July 29: Notts County (a).
Aug 2: Shrewsbury Town (a).

Sunderland

Great expectations
Roy Keane has talked about needing £50 million, but he wants quality ahead of stellar individuals. Persuading Sir Alex Ferguson to sell Jonny Evans, the Manchester United defender, would be regarded as a coup.

Reality check
Stephen Hunt, of Reading, and Julio Arca, of Middlesbrough, are realistic possibilities and the calibre of player Sunderland hope to attract now they have proved themselves in the top flight. Finding a nimble partner for Kenwyne Jones would help.

On their way out
Only Craig Gordon and Jones are “untouchable”, Keane says, and departures are expected to reach double figures. Ian Harte, Stanislav Varga, Stephen Wright and Andrew Cole have been released.

Preseason matches
July 20: Sporting Lisbon (a).
July 23: Vitória Setúbal (a).
July 30: Nottingham Forest (a).
Aug 3: Ajax (h).
Aug 7: Athlone Town (a).
Aug 9: Shamrock Rovers (a).

Tottenham Hotspur

Great expectations
Flirting with big-name players has frequently ended in failure, so perhaps it was wise of Gustavo Poyet, the first-team coach, to dampen speculation of a move for Samuel Eto’o. That has not stopped the club being linked with several top players in Spain. David Bentley, the Blackburn Rovers winger, would be expensive to purchase.

Reality check
If Barcelona let Giovani dos Santos move to White Hart Lane, how good can the attacking midfield player be? The search for a left winger continues, with Adam Johnson, of Middlesbrough, and Diego Capel, of Seville, mentioned. Richard Dunne, the Manchester City defender, could follow the arrival of Luka Modric and John Bostock.

On their way out
Lee Young Pyo should be the first of many to leave. He is likely to return to PSV Eindhoven, but Ricardo Rocha’s salary could be a stumbling block to the defender’s return to Benfica. Few takers so far for Benoît Assou-Ekotto, Darren Bent or Younès Kaboul.

Preseason matches
July 28: Norwich City (a).
July 30: Leyton Orient (a).
Aug 1: Celtic (Rotterdam),
Aug 3: Borussia Dortmund (Rotterdam).

West Bromwich Albion

Great expectations
Keeping Kevin Phillips and Zoltan Gera is high on the fans’ wish list. Seyi Olofinjana, of Wolverhampton Wanderers, is a target while Alexandre Song, Arsenal’s Cameroon midfield player, may join on a season’s loan.

Reality check
Paul McShane could return after a disappointing time with Sunderland. Several loan players are staying on: Roman Bednar (Heart of Midlothian, £2.5 million after loan), Luke Moore (Aston Villa, £3 million), Kim Do Heon (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, £550,000) and Michal Danek (Viktoria Plzen, loan extended).

On their way out
Bostjan Cesar (Marseilles, after loan), Luke Steele (Barnsley, free). Gera and Phillips look set to chase a pound.

Preseason matches
July 22: Shrewsbury Town (a).
July 23: Cheltenham Town (a).
July 26: Ipswich Town (a).
July 29: Northampton Town (a).
Aug 1: Hereford United (a).
Aug 5: Walsall (a).

West Ham United

Great expectations
Ambitions do not extend much farther than a couple of full backs and some young players. Marco Zambelli, the Brescia right back, may be too expensive, but Dean Ashton should sign a new contract this week.

Reality check
So far, the targets seem to be escaping. Davide Lanzafame, the forward, has moved to Palermo from Juventus, Richard Dunne, the Manchester City defender, is wanted by Tottenham Hotspur and there has been no move for Nicky Shorey, of Reading.

On their way out
Nolberto Solano is unlikely to be offered a new contract, despite being one of the most creative players last season. Available for transfer are Nigel Quashie, Danny Gabbidon, John Pantsil, Carlton Cole, James Collins, Calum Davenport, Lee Bowyer, Luis Boa Morte, Richard Wright, Fredrik Ljungberg and Anton Ferdinand.

Preseason matches
July 20: Columbus Crew (a).
July 24: MLS All-Star team (Toronto).
Aug 1: Southampton (a).

Wigan Athletic

Great expectations
Steady progress has been made since Steve Bruce arrived at the JJB Stadium and the team could push for an Intertoto Cup place. Mid-table would be creditable.

Reality check
Probably be scrambling around near the foot of the table for most of the campaign, although they should be good enough to stay out of the bottom three. Like last season, should survive with a few games to spare.

On their way out
Josip Skoko, Salomon Olembe, Julius Aghahowa, Peter Moore and Russell Saunders have been released. Futures of Henri Camara, Andreas Granqvist, Carlo Nash and David Cotterill to be clarified.

Preseason matches
July 19: FC St Veit (a).
July 22: Eintracht Frankfurt (Austria).
July 25: Hannover 96 (Austria).
July 29: Barnsley (a).
Aug 2: Sheffield Wednesday (a).
Aug 5: Hibernian (a).
Aug 10: Utrecht (a).

(taken from: here)

Brian Barwick dances to the tune of Sepp Blatter

2008-06-02T14:18:00.000+07:00

Sepp Blatter, the president of Fifa, behaves like a man who thinks he runs the world, and with acolytes such as Brian Barwick, the chief executive of the FA, at his feet, is it any wonder?

Barwick was representing English football at Fifa’s congress in Sydney last week, when Blatter’s proposal that only five foreign players should be allowed in each team was put to the vote. Six plus five, as the concept is known, would be ruinous for English football. There is no guarantee that it would increase the standard of the national team and it would weaken the power of English clubs in Europe.

Yet, as predicted, as far as the lick-spittle FA is concerned, anything Blatter says goes until the hustling for the right to host the 2018 World Cup finals is over. Blatter could lead a call to invade Poland and we would be first across the border. Faced with having to stand against the Fifa president, Barwick’s nerve went. He joined the ranks in favour of exploring the proposal, helping to deliver the landslide victory that Blatter’s ego hardly needs.

Later, as Barwick sought to justify this squalid little sell-out, he should have been thrown top hat, tails and a cane so he could have tap-danced properly. He voted in favour only to explore the legality of the plan under European Union law. Bringing through more high-quality players was a priority for the FA. Beyond that, it was committed to meritocracy.

What rot. Since the 2018 World Cup bid was announced, all that has been heard from Soho Square is the squeal of realpolitik. Everything is geared to one month in the summer a decade from now and if that means selling the domestic game down the river, so be it. There is no need to debate the legality of Blatter’s plan under EU labour laws; it is illegal, simple as that. As for high-quality players, there is no guarantee that this scheme would do anything to raise standards. The best English players would become vastly overpriced and corralled within the elite, the smaller clubs would be left with the herd and standards would fall.

In the days when Uefa insisted on quotas of home-nationality players in European competition, Manchester United were forced to field teams that were no longer subject to meritocracy when playing in the Champions League. On November 2, 1994, United took on Barcelona at the Nou Camp and to make his numbers work Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager, selected Wigan-born Gary Walsh in goal, ahead of Peter Schmeichel. Did this instantly make Walsh a higher-quality player, fitting in with present FA logic? No, it made him an unqualified impostor and Barcelona won 4-0. Walsh’s ability was not improved by getting a chance he did not deserve and he played out a mediocre career, frequently as an understudy, at Bradford City, Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic.

The numbers of foreign players in the English game is a problem, but not an insurmountable one. As salaries and transfer fees rise, clubs are increasingly focused on young talent, even if some are looking to cast the net to Ouagadougou as much as Watford. This is boom time for the international contingent in the Barclays Premier League, from 11 nonBritish or Irish players in the year it was formed to more than 250 in 2007, but there will be a better balance, given time.

The Scottish league went the same way, reached tipping point with inflated wages paid to average imports and adjusted. English football can travel the same path, without the dead hand of Blatter to steer the way.

Barwick will no doubt claim privately that he had no choice but to back the president because to do otherwise would have scuppered the World Cup bid, but if those are the choices, better not to continue than an existence spent grovelling to Fifa. The present dalliance with Jack Warner, the Fifa vice-president, in Trinidad is odious enough. Barwick may also claim that a vote against would have mattered little, with Blatter’s proposal going through on a majority of 155-5, but that is not the full story. There were 40 abstentions, so 45 nations failed to back the president, a not insignificant number, and a braver man than Barwick would have been among them.

Like many of Michel Platini’s actions at Uefa, the heightened resolve of Fifa to introduce a quota system smacks of score-settling. Fifa felt slighted that the Premier League’s idea for a 39th game to be played abroad had been revealed without proper consultation. Warner said as much at the weekend. He did not think it a bad plan but whined that Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive, should have talked it through with Fifa and Uefa first. In other words, cut the boys in on it, sort them out, grease and toady and tug your forelock to these jumped up little twerps that presume they operate for the good of the game.

We know what type of allies Fifa likes: the Club World Championship has just been transferred to that hotbed of football excellence, the United Arab Emirates, in 2009 and 2010. After that it will revert to Japan until 2012. And to think that some cynics claim that it is all only about money these days.

Thanks to Barwick, Fifa knows that it has English football dancing on a string. It took the Premier League 16 years to be established as the strongest in the world and the FA could yet cede that for the bounty of a month-long jamboree. This is not realpolitik. This is just real dumb.

Spurred elsewhere

“Like everything else in this miserable game, it comes down to pounds, shillings and pence,” Simon Jordan, the Crystal Palace chairman, said of John Bostock’s move to Tottenham Hotspur. “Surely it should be what is best for a 16-year-old and where he is most likely to play.”

It is always a surprise when successful businessmen, whose wealth is driven by market forces and the bottom line, wish others, such as Bostock’s father, to operate by a different set of rules. Jordan’s argument also presumes that the best place for a teenage prodigy to develop is at Selhurst Park because he will get more first-team games, and that is wrong.

Bostock is 16. He is a learner, a novice, albeit a phenomenally talented one, and at this stage the only concern should be where his abilities will be better schooled. The options are with Neil Warnock, a good club manager but offering a single season of top-flight experience ending in relegation, or Juande Ramos, twice a winner of the Uefa Cup at Seville, a trophy winner in his first season in England and widely regarded as one of the foremost developers of young players in Europe. It is not only money that makes it sensible to sign for Tottenham, then.

Beckham mystery tour

David Beckham, the most famous footballer on the planet, captained England in last night’s match away to Trinidad & Tobago, played purely to sweeten Jack Warner, a Fifa powerbroker, and encourage favour for the 2018 World Cup finals bid. Yet Beckham made his position clear when he resigned the captaincy in 2006, so his selection is a mystery. Fabio Capello says that he does not do PR stunts; but, like Carlsberg, if he did, they would probably be the best PR stunts in the world.

Private protesters

Sir Alex Ferguson claims that the attitude of the Glazer family to Cristiano Ronaldo’s proposed move to Real Madrid is that they would rather sit him in the stands every week than sell. It would be some statement and could only be made by a club in private control. No plc would be so bold.

Reluctant billionaires

The Formula One consortium that owns Queens Park Rangers contains some of sport’s richest men, we are regularly told. Among them, it is now rumoured, is Vijay Mallya, described, like the rest, as a free-spending billionaire. The trouble is, from the somewhat earthbound appointment of Iain Dowie onwards, there remains little sign of any of them wanting to spend very freely at Loftus Road. Roman Abramovich: now that is what you call a free-spending billionaire.

Community spirited

Sunil Galati, the president of the United States Soccer Federation, says that he would welcome the Community Shield match, the traditional curtain-raiser to the English season, being played in his country. Not a bad idea. After all, who over here cares about it?

Clarke conundrum

Henk ten Cate has gone and Steve Clarke, the other assistant coach to Avram Grant at Chelsea, is said to be next. Big difference. Ten Cate was always about the show, a big, tough guy to take on the players in the way Grant would not. At any properly functioning club he would have been surplus to requirements. But Clarke?

He is the sort of figure who is indispensable for a new manager, particularly one coming from abroad; a man who knows the club, their traditions, their uniqueness. Arsène Wenger spotted a man such as that in Pat Rice at Arsenal; for the same reason, Gustavo Poyet has been vital to Juande Ramos at Tottenham Hotspur.

Clarke was not brought in by José Mourinho. Already a youth-team coach, he was quickly promoted as someone capable of giving the new manager insight into what made Chelsea tick. It is a commonsense strategy for any manager entering an alien world; common sense, however, is in short supply at Stamford Bridge these days.

Saints preserve us

By any reckoning, the management career of Jan Poortvliet, the new Southampton manager, has been unexceptional. Its highlight was winning promotion from the Eerste Divisie, Holland’s equivalent of the Coca-Cola Championship, with Den Bosch in 2001. His previous employers, Helmond Sport, finished seventh in the Eerste Divisie this season. The stadium capacity is 4,100.

He must have something going for him, though, because Southampton’s new executive team of Michael Wilde and Rupert Lowe have made him their first appointment. “We need to adopt a European-style coaching system with the object of linking the academy to the first team,” Wilde said. Translation? We’ll be selling our best players, trying to stay in the division with kids and there is not an English manager of any substance who would go for it.

(taken from: here)

Kidman wants $20m for Darling Point

2008-06-02T13:27:00.000+07:00

Actor Nicole Kidman has listed her Darling Point villa with hopes of $20 million as she seeks another Sydney home with more grass for her baby to play on.

With the baby due in July, Kidman and her husband, Keith Urban, have decided to depart the house, which has no lawn and limited hedged gardens.

Buyers have recently inspected the hillside property - with 1068sqm of space spread over three levels - that has been her Australian abode since 1995.

The Nashville-based couple want to buy again in the eastern suburbs, but have not ruled out being closer to her parents at Longueville, possibly on the Hunters Hill peninsula where actor Cate Blanchett has her $10 million riverfront.

Her house is listed through Sotheby's International in conjunction with Janne Sutcliffe's Change of Address agency. She will be joining actors Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman in fossicking amid the limited supply of luxury homes.

She has also listed her beachfront retreat on the NSW far South Coast, which was consolidated at a $4 million cost. Rosedale residents suggest Kidman has been there less than a handful of times since she bought the first of three adjoining properties in 2004.

Kidman and her then husband, Tom Cruise, spent $4.2 million in 1995 to buy half of the Darling Point villa, five years after they met on the set of Days Of Thunder. The Garry Rothwell-designed house, which she inspected on a break during the Batman Forever movie shoot, remains registered in the name of an overseas company, N.T.Inc.

In 1998, about two years before Kidman and Cruise separated, N.T.Inc added the $4.75 million other half of the duplex, making eight bedrooms.

Kidman had made only one earlier Sydney property purchase, an $81,000 Military Road, Mosman unit that was given to her younger sister, Antonia.

In December Kidman sold a Walsh Bay penthouse, which cost $4 million in 2006, for $4.65 million. The couple have bought homes for $US7 million ($7.4 million) in Los Angeles and $US3.7 million in Nashville and a $US2.4 million ranch.

Her net worth in the BRW Rich List this week is $289 million. It was $237 million last year.

(taken from: here)

Is Anybody in Control of the Economy?

2008-06-02T13:10:00.000+07:00

Korea posted a US$1.56 billion current account deficit in April, a fifth consecutive month in the red since December of last year (US$1=W1,030). This is the first time this has happened since 1997, when a current account deficit depleted the foreign exchange reserves and pushed Korea to the brink of bankruptcy. A major reason for the deficit is the surge in crude oil prices during the first four months of this year, which caused oil import costs to rise by $10 billion compared to the same period a year ago.

Rises in crude and raw materials costs compounded by the weakening won have driven the inflation rate to the 4 percent range. Soaring oil prices have prompted cargo truck drivers to park their vehicles, and fishermen are keeping their boats ashore. Reeling from the impact of high prices, consumers have cut back on spending leaving restaurants and stores empty. Over 3,600 restaurants in Seoul alone have shut down so far this year.

The index of present economic conditions has painted a bleak picture for the third straight month, while the index pointing to future economic conditions six to seven months down the road has also been negative for a fifth consecutive month. The three major economic indices monitoring consumer prices, economic growth and current account balance are all showing warning signs. High-flying global oil prices and the economic slowdown resulting from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis are beyond Korea's control, so there are limitations to what Seoul can do.

Yet the Korean government has not given up on its goal of achieving 6 percent economic growth this year. Indeed, it is fixated on its election pledge of 7 percent growth. That's why we are seeing the adverse effects of rising consumer prices as the government stuck to a weak won against the U.S. dollar in order to boost exports.

Of greater concern is the fact that there is no one to regulate and rectify these problems. A sign of this situation can be seen in the chief of the presidential office criticizing as "inadequate" a government plan to deal with soaring oil prices that came out of a prime ministerial meeting. At a meeting of presidential chief secretaries, participants are said to have voiced concerns that the chief economic secretary did not appear to be in control of the situation. There was also talk of disagreements between the head of the presidential office and the chairman of the National Competitiveness Reinforcement Committee over who controls deregulation and other mid-to-long-term economic policies. Cheong Wa Dae and the government are out of sync, while even the groups within the presidential office are not operating in tandem. In other words, nobody is in control of economic policy, which is why this administration appears so shaky in its handling of the economy.

(taken from: here)

Arabian Perfumes - An Essence of Tradition

2008-06-02T13:08:00.000+07:00

There are some things that add zest to life. Perfumes are one of them. They are associated with sophistication, culture and wellbeing. Perfumes have been around since at least the dawn of civilization.

The reasons why people wear perfumes are many and vary from person to person. Prime among them is attracting attention and having a feel-good effect. Man’s gradual loss of the sense of detecting pheromones from the opposite sex over the millennia probably contributed to the evolution of perfumes. Today perfumes do what pheromones did for our ancestors. The choice of perfumes reflects the personality of the wearer.

Umpteen books have been written on the beneficial effects of perfumes on the body and mind. Medical research has established that the odors we smell have a significant impact on the way we feel. “We know from brain wave frequency studies that smelling lavender increases alpha waves in the back of the head, and they are associated with relaxation,” says neurologist Dr. Alan Hirsch. “An odor such as jasmine increases beta waves in the front of the head, which are associated with a more alert state.”

Perfumes are both oil-based and synthetic and are applied to the body or heated in a clay pot that diffuses the aroma throughout the room. The earliest use of perfumes has been recorded in a cuneiform tablet from the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamia. A chemist by the name of Tapputi is mentioned in the tablet.

“Ancient Egypt was a very fragrant civilization,” says aromatic consultant John Steel. “They infused fragrant oils for massage, bathing and medicine, burned incense in religious ceremonies and used aromatic cedar oil to embalm their dead.”

But Abu Yusuf Yaqub bin Ishaaq Al-Kindi, the 9th Century Abbasid philosopher and scientist, is considered the founder of the perfume industry. He carried out extensive research and experiments in combining extracts from various aromatic plants and herbs to come out with a variety of products. He prepared a vast number of “recipes” for a wide range of perfumes.

Not surprisingly, the Middle East is regarded as the cradle of the perfume industry. The Crusaders took the knowledge of oriental medicine and perfumery to Europe in the 12th century. Alcohol-based synthetic perfumes, a comparatively recent innovation, today constitute the bulk of the $40 billion global perfume industry.

In the Middle East today, Ajmal Perfumes is synonymous with captivating perfumes, beauty products and high-quality Arabic fragrances for the body and home. It all began when Ajmal Ali, a rice farmer from the Indian state of Assam, came to Bombay to try his luck as a trader in perfumes. With the rice crop frequently failing owing to the vagaries of monsoon rains, life was tough in Assam. The abundance of agarwood or oudh in his native Assam gave young Ajmal Ali the idea that he could perhaps make a living out of trading in this natural resource, the prime ingredient of all oriental perfumes. With 500 rupees and some oudh oil as his starting capital, he left his hometown for Bombay with high hopes and aspirations.

In the tradition of great masters, Ajmal Ali worked in a dingy house in Bombay in the early 1950s blending perfumes and trying to find the right mixture that would impress the many Arab traders who visited India’s western shores and were fascinated by the country and its aromatic herbs. Half a century later, his son, Nazir Ajmal, today presides over the Dubai-based company which has an annual turnover of $167 million and is a regional corporate entity with a vast portfolio of over 100 of the finest and most captivating fragrances.

Since shifting its operations base from Bombay to Dubai in 1976, Ajmal Perfumes has established over 100 exclusive retail outlets across the Arabian Gulf and hundreds of dealerships across the globe. The company has invested over $10 million in a new 150,000 square-foot facility in Dubai that offers a high-tech automated production unit including a state-of-the-art research wing. Ajmal Perfumes is also the only regional perfume manufacturer authorized to issue quality certificates on behalf of the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization, or SASO.

Currently the company exports its products to 14 countries and has plans to increase the number to 20 by the end of this year. Chief Operations Officer Nazir Ajmal says the company creates fragrances in both sprays and oils and that they fall broadly into two categories — oriental and French or Western. Oriental fragrances tend to be highly concentrated and are usually five times stronger than the Western ones. But, explains Ajmal, oriental perfumery is constricted by the use of a limited number of ingredients whereas perfumers can work with many more ingredients in Western perfumery and, as such, be more creative and produce a diverse range of products.

The key ingredient of Ajmal’s products, of course, is oudh and this is not always readily available as it is found only in Southeast Asia and India’s Assam state. Oudh oil is the product of infected species of Aquilaria and Gyrinops trees. The trees frequently become infected with a parasite fungus or mold, Phialophora parasitica, and begin to produce an aromatic resin in response to this attack. The results are achieved by allowing plenty of time for the infection to fester. Eventually the tree dies and agarwood or oudh resin is chipped away in various grades of quality and sold.

How do you classify fragrances into those for use by men and women? Typically, fragrances for women tend to be stronger, says Ajmal. Floral notes are also associated with feminine scents. Men’s fragrances, on the other hand, are spicy and woody. Usage patterns have, however, blurred the lines lately and today a majority of fragrances are unisex.

To remain in business, perfume manufacturers have to be constantly innovative. In the case of Ajmal Perfumes, its marketing teams do considerable research on consumer taste and behavior and report that to Nazir Ajmal, who is also the chief perfumer. Based on the input, Ajmal then comes out with different blends. But ultimately, Ajmal admits, it is the market that decides the fate of a particular brand. In “ideal conditions” a typical fragrance should last for a year. Oils can be used for longer — up to five years if stored in glass containers.

Marketing perfumes is an art in itself. Aesthetics plays a big role in determining the shape of bottles and their color. New ideas and technological advancement in bottle designing help in choosing the final design.

In this part of the world, demand for fragrances soars during the months of Shabaan and Ramadan. But like music and art there will always be, wherever humans are, demand for perfumes from both connoisseurs and amateurs.

(taken from: here)

Ford to make new subcompact in Mexico

2008-06-02T11:55:00.000+07:00

American automaker to build Fiesta subcompact car near Mexico City, converting large truck factory to small car facility.

Ford Motor Co. plans to build its new Fiesta subcompact at a factory near Mexico City for sale in the United States, the company said Friday.

Ford (F, Fortune 500) plans to retool its Cuautitlan Assembly Plant from large-truck to small-car production as it moves to shift its factories from trucks toward more fuel-efficient vehicles, the company said.

The move is a blow to the United Auto Workers union, which last year approved a contract that granted concessions to the automaker. Earlier this year, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said the union would try to convince Ford that its U.S. plants were competitive enough that the automaker could make money building its smallest cars in the U.S. Currently, all subcompacts sold in the United States seeking comment were left with UAW spokesman Roger Kerson.

The Fiesta is critical to Ford's effort to unify its global operations and sell versions of the same vehicle in markets worldwide. Three- and five-door hatchback versions will go on sale in Europe this fall and China by the end of the year. Other versions, including a four-door sedan, will reach the rest of Asia by 2009 and North America by 2010. Ford said Friday that a European hatchback model is being added to the North American lineup.

Ford has sold 12 million Fiestas since the vehicle was introduced in 1976. Although it's a familiar name to customers in Europe, Asia and South America, the Fiesta was only sold in the U.S. from 1978 to 1980.

Ford also said Friday that it plans a new diesel engine line at its at Chihuahua Engine Plant and a new joint venture transmission plant with Getrag in Guanajuato.

The Cuautitlan plant now makes trucks for the Mexican market, ranging from the Ford F-150 pickup to the F-550. The company plans to import trucks from the U.S. in the future to free factory capacity for the new small cars, it said in a statement.

Overall, Ford and its parts suppliers will invest $3 billion in Mexico as part of the Fiesta project, Ford said. About 4,500 Ford jobs should be created at the plants, the company said.

"Ford is absolutely committed to leveraging our global assets to accelerate the shift to more fuel-efficient small cars and powertrain technologies that people really want and value," Ford President and Chief Executive Alan Mulally said in a statement.

(taken from: here)

An ill wind for gas prices

2008-06-02T11:48:00.000+07:00

Traders say that even though you're already paying for the hurricane season, the price could spike to $6 a gallon if catastrophe strikes.

Batten down the hatches: hurricane season starts on June 1. It's expected to be a rough one, threatening to upend refineries and disrupt pipelines in the southern United States.

And that could send gas prices, already nearly 20% above what they were last year, soaring even higher.

That's what happened three years ago when the Gulf Coast was battered by two hurricanes - Katrina and Rita - in the span of a few weeks.

"With the market the way it is now, a move in crude because of a hurricane could really be exacerbated," said MF Global energy analyst Don Luke.

Peter Beutel, oil analyst at Cameron Hanover Beutel, said if a Katrina-like hurricane were to hit in July, gas prices could go as high as $5 or even $6.

"The last thing this market needs at this time is a hurricane, because we can't afford to lose any of our refining capacity at this point," said Beutel. "If anything bullish happens with the market in this state, it would make it go absolutely crazy."

Like any disruption to supply, when a hurricane takes out drilling platforms and refineries, supply and demand principles lead to a jump in crude oil gasoline prices.

But even before the start to hurricane season, speculative traders have started to send oil and gas prices higher in anticipation of a hit to supplies.

"We're already seeing a hurricane premium on gas of about five to 10 cents per gallon," said Alaron Trading energy analyst Phil Flynn. "Especially since Katrina, we've seen traders build that into prices."

The last huge gas spike caused by a hurricane happened in the late summer of 2005, when Katrina and Rita brought many Americans their first glimpse at $3 a gallon for regular gas. The destruction from Hurricane Katrina alone led gasoline prices to jump 46 cents, or 17%, in just one week to a national average of $3.11, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Though we may never again see two Category 5 hurricanes enter the Gulf of Mexico in the span of only a few weeks, it may not take a similar occurrence to see a similar boost in gas prices again. Oil prices have soared through the roof on seemingly any kind of bad news recently, so analysts admit that this hurricane season's effect on gas prices is difficult to predict.

On the other hand, if no hurricane hits this season, Beutel said gas prices may fall off a bit. But with hurricane season ending Nov. 30, we'll have to wait until December to find out.

"That would have some downward pressure on prices, but who knows where we'll be at that point - we could be a dollar higher or lower than where we are now," he said.

The perfect storm

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its tropical storm forecast Thursday morning, saying there is a 65% chance of a stronger-than-average hurricane season and only a 10% chance that it will be weaker than normal. The outlook indicates a 60% to 70% chance of 12 to 16 named storms, with six to nine becoming hurricanes and two to five turning into major hurricanes.

But it doesn't take a strongly active hurricane season to cause major disruption to oil drilling and gasoline production in the Gulf.

"The makeup of a storm can have all the difference," said Flynn. "Slow moving storms have a tendency to churn up underground pipelines, so you don't need a category five to do a lot of damage."

Andy Radford, policy adviser for oil industry trade group American Petroleum Institute (API), said the average hurricane halts oil drilling production for over a week. Rig workers are forced to evacuate two to three days before the storm hits, and as soon as it's safe to return, they have to check for damage and restart production.

"When the offshore oil pumps get shut down, it takes a lot to get them back on," said Radford.

iReport.com: Are you taking extreme gas-saving steps?

He said those big storms in 2004 and 2005 did considerable damage to oil drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, severely cutting into supply to gasoline refineries on the shore.

Though slow-moving, weak tropical storms over the Gulf of Mexico can halt oil drilling, powerful hurricanes that hit land can knock out refineries. That's because about 40% of U.S. refining capacity is located on the Gulf Coast, namely in oft-hit states like Texas and Louisiana. After Katrina and Rita, 30% of Gulf Coast refineries were shut down or operating with reductions.

"Because refining of crude oil into gasoline and other oil products is critical to meeting our nation's daily energy needs, disruptions in these operations can have an immediate impact on the nation's gasoline supply and petrochemicals," said Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) spokeswoman Robin Lebovitz.

And even though NOAA predicted a high number of strong, named storms for the 2008 season, no one can tell whether or not they will make landfall.

"You can have a very active season but none will make landfall, or a very inactive season but they all hit land," said NOAA spokesman Dennis Feltgen. "There's no way to predict if they will hit yet, because that science just doesn't exist."

It's rare for a refinery to be totally knocked out by a hurricane, but many are susceptible to wind and water damage that can limit supply to and from the facilities. Similar to offshore drilling platforms, refineries are sometimes shut down for more than a week before they can return to full operability, according to API Refining Issues Manager Cindy Schild.

Part of the reason Katrina and Rita led to such a spike in gas prices was that there weren't enough functional facilities to make up for the lost output. Although capacity at many U.S. oil refineries has been expanded, there hasn't been a new refinery built in the United States in three decades.

(taken from: here)

Nationwide contest rewards young entrepreneurs

2008-06-02T11:26:00.000+07:00

When she was 8 years old, Evelyn Espinoza sold bubble gum and other candy door-to-door in her Los Angeles neighborhood to earn money.

By sixth grade, her mom was buying the enterprising 12-year-old toys at a wholesale mart to resell at school.

Now 17, Espinoza is still hard at work. Her latest business venture, Hippie's Candles, was named the winner last week of the Los Angeles regional business-plan competition, and a $1,750 prize, at the event sponsored by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship and the Merrill Lynch Foundation.

"Entrepreneurship is excellent," said Espinoza, who is in the NFTE entrepreneur-training class at Soledad Enrichment Action Girls Academy, a charter school in downtown Los Angeles.

"Money rules the society," she said. "Everyone wants money, and it's only right to learn how to make it in a legit way and to be your own boss."

Second place and $1,250 went to Crenshaw High School students Autumn Taylor and Ariana Drummond, both 18, for their Groovy Smoothie business -- a revival of a concept created by a former student.

Taylor and Drummond, who sell smoothies at special events, recently whipped up 300 at a multicultural bazaar at the school, bringing $800 in revenue and a profit of $600. They've trained other students to take over the enterprise next school year when the two head to college.

"Going through this program has taught me a lot of things that I won't have to mess up on when I go through this in the future," said Taylor, who will major in business economics at UCLA and would like to work in the music industry before starting her own music company.

Drummond, who will major in public relations and business management at Hampton University in Virginia, values the networking she learned through the program, which included job shadowing at Cushman & Wakefield Inc. and a field trip last week to Comcast Corp.

"My networking with the different mentors and people at Merrill Lynch and NFTE has taught me a basic understanding of getting to know individuals and learning how important relationships are in the business world," she said.

Monique Verduzco, 15, won third place and $750 for her business plan for an automotive care company called Magic Detailing Service. The student at Soledad Enrichment Action charter school in North Hills wants to study graphic arts in college.

The first- and second-place winners will head to New York in the fall to compete for a $10,000 prize with other young entrepreneurs from NFTE programs around the country. A pool of 20,000 young people participated in the regional competitions this year.

Last year, Torrance student Daniel Uribe won third place in the national competition after placing first in the Los Angeles regional match for his Lazer Bearings business plan. The venture sells high-performance, low-cost ceramic bearings for skateboards.

New York-based NFTE, which was started by an entrepreneur as a dropout prevention program, targets young people from low-income areas. The nonprofit provides curriculum and training to schools, after-school programs and organizations to teach business management, financial literacy, critical analysis and public speaking skills.

Merrill Lynch helped launch NFTE Greater Los Angeles in 2006 with a three-year grant.

"We're trying to help teach young people about investing in entrepreneurship, to help promote the importance of business knowledge and that sort of thing -- it's core to who we are as a company," said Garrett Gin, a Costa Mesa-based spokesman for Merrill Lynch & Co.'s western region and a regional NFTE judge.

Company employees volunteered to mentor Espinoza and other students in the Los Angeles program. The mentors served as financial advisors, helping the students run the numbers for their business plans, and worked with them to hone their presentations.

Locally, about 500 students competed in the high-school level business plan competition. Overall, there are 17 schools and one community organization using the NFTE curriculum in the Los Angeles area. About 2,000 local young people have participated since the program began.

Espinoza said she makes candles in the kitchen of her family's home using organic wax and various dyes and fragrances. The 11th-grader has learned to wait until she has an order "so I can make sure people pay for the supplies I use," she said.

Sounding like a seasoned business pro, she talked about "her basic unit," a six-inch pillar that sells for $17. Star shapes made of colored layers of wax and heart-shaped candles cost more.

Espinoza said she jotted down several ideas for her business, including making bird treats, before settling on candles. A friend helped teach her how to make them.

Espinoza would like to expand by making a catalog, adding to her candle selection and getting stores to buy her candles on consignment.

"I really see big things for this business," she said. " I'm just getting going."

Insurance enforcement

The first batch of 500 California employers' names has been sent to be checked against the state's workers' compensation insurance rolls under a pilot program meant to ferret out businesses that duck the state-mandated coverage.

As part of the new enforcement effort, every three months 500 business names will be pulled from sources that include the payroll database at the Employment Development Department and handed over to the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau.

The program was created last year by the passage of a bill aimed at reducing the number of California businesses illegally operating without insurance to cover the cost of medical care and disability benefits for job-related injuries.

"The underground economy is ranked up there as what [small-business] employees feel is the biggest threat competitively in California," said John Duncan, director of the Department of Industrial Relations, which launched the program two weeks ago.

If a small business looks like it doesn't carry insurance, it will get a letter asking for proof of coverage. Those without it will be subject to a penalty.

California employers -- even those with a single employee -- must carry workers' compensation insurance unless they employ only family members. Qualified firms can self-insure.

For more information, see the state website at www.dir.ca .gov/dwc/employer.htm.

Equipment

For small businesses that need to acquire equipment but aren't sure how to best leverage their cash and credit to do so, a new website offers a solid overview of the options.

Business owners can read up on subjects such as whether to lease equipment or get a loan to buy it and what types of leases and financing are available.

About 80% of all businesses finance equipment to invest in capital assets while managing cash flow and their balance sheets, according to industry trade group Equipment Leasing and Finance Assn., which created the guide at www.equipmentfinance101.org.

For a small business, financed equipment can include computers, telephone systems, office equipment and related services and software.

Keep an eye on:

Paid sick days will be required for all employees who work seven or more days a year under a bill approved last week by the state Assembly. Small businesses would be able to limit paid sick days, which can be used to care for family members, to five per year.

The bill, AB 2716, now heads to the state Senate for consideration. It is opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce and, if passed, may face a veto by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

(taken from: here)

Plumber to make £100m splash on Plus

2008-06-02T00:34:00.000+07:00

Paul Davidson, the colourful entrepreneur known as the Plumber and famous for his battles with the Financial Services Authority, will this week return to the public market with his new pipe repair company.

Mr Davidson, who made his millions selling a device to paint behind radiators, will begin trading as Fluid Leader Group (FLG) on the Plus market on Tuesday.

The company, which has raised around £5.5m, mainly through selling a 12 per cent stake to Sheikh Faisal al-Qassimi, a member of the ruling family of Sharjah, part of the United Arab Emirates, is expected to have a market capitalisation of up to £100m, making it one of the biggest firms listed on Plus.

FLG sells a reinforcing system to end oil-pipe leakage that Mr Davidson claims will "revolutionise the market". "We are moving to Plus this week," he said, "but we plan to bypass AIM and go for a full listing within two years."

Mr Davidson, who owns 54 per cent of the shares in the company with his son, plans to grow the company through acquisitions and says he has targeted three UK companies.

"There are lots of opportunities out there and we intend to buy them up where possible," he said.

Mr Davidson is best known for a four-year battle with the FSA, which began when the watchdog attempted to fine him for market abuse. A tribunal finally dismissed the case, ordering the FSA to pay Mr Davidson £725,000 – the most humiliating climbdown in its history.

(taken from: here)

Bank set to keep base rate at 5% as inflation continues to rise

2008-06-02T00:31:00.000+07:00

Homeowners are likely to get little respite from high borrowing costs this week, with City economists predicting that the Bank of England will keep interest rates on hold when its rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday.

The committee is expected to keep rates at 5 per cent despite calls for cuts to revive the economy, which many think teeters on the edge of recession.

Michael Taylor, senior economist at Lombard Street Research, said he expected rates to be kept on hold at 5 per cent for the rest of the year, constrained by rising inflation. It was likely, Mr Taylor said, that inflation would rise above 3 per cent in the next month, forcing the Bank's Governor, Mervyn King, to write a letter of explanation to the Chancellor, Alistair Darling.

Mr King has had to write only one such letter in the past.

"If the Bank of England starts cutting interest rates now, we will end up with a much worse inflation problem in the next few years," said Mr Taylor. "The committee has to remember the long-term picture."

The City will find out whether the 3 per cent level has been breached on 17 June, when the latest consumer price index is published.

In a poll of 20 economists by the financial news provider Bloomberg, 80 per cent said they believed the committee would hold rates at 5 per cent this week. The Bank has cut interest rates three times in the wake of the credit crunch, but kept them on hold at its last meeting because of fears of inflation, which has crept to 3 per cent – 1 per cent higher than its target.

Thursday's decision on rates will come just days after conflicting data showing both the largest monthly fall in house prices in 17 years and the fastest rise in retail prices in 16 years.

The Nationwide building society reported that house prices fell by 2.5 per cent in May – the biggest year-on-year drop since December 1992 – while the employers' organisation the CBI said that 56 per cent of retailers had reported higher selling prices in the past three months.

The chief executive of HSBC bank, Michael Geoghegan, last week called on the Bank of England to raise interest rates, saying: "Inflation is a long-term problem because there is no long-term will to solve it."

(taken from: here)

Dell Turnaround Stoked by Emerging Market Sales

2008-06-02T00:16:00.000+07:00

Dell Inc. (DELL) reported a solid first quarter with earnings of $.38 per share on $16.08 billion in revenue (see conference call transcript). The results beat Wall Street estimates of $.34 EPS and $15.68 billion in sales.

This is positive news for a company that has struggled greatly in the last few years, and could be read as a positive sign that the company’s turnaround strategy is paying off. Since Michael Dell returned as CEO, the company has worked to become more competitive by cutting costs. The clear emphasis of this cost cutting effort has been to reduce redundant employees and in the first quarter Dell aggressively cut 3700 jobs--bringing the total over the past year to 7000. Operating expenses dropped 7% from the fourth quarter, thanks in large part to this downsizing. The company hopes to attain $3 billion in cost savings by 2011.

Dell’s workforce reductions have not adversely affected sales as product shipments increased 22% in the quarter. A particular highlight was server sales, which increased 21%--three times the rate of growth of the industry as a whole. Furthermore, notebook unit sales grew at a stunning 43% clip; however, because of price cuts, revenue on notebooks did not keep up that pace, growing only 22%. Other business segments also made nice gains. The lone segment that struggled was desktop sales which dropped 5%. Dell has aggressively cut prices on many of its products, which boosted sales but negatively impacted margins.

Of particular interest, for the first time in Dell’s history, more than half of revenue came from sales outside of the U.S. Emerging markets such as China, India, Russia, Brazil and Latin America grew exceptionally fast. The weak dollar clearly had a big impact, but so too did Dell’s turnaround strategy of trying to aggressively grow market share in these up-and-coming, computer-buying nations/regions. Overseas growth was essential to Dell’s strong quarter because business spending on IT in the U.S. slowed almost to a halt, as companies bought only what was essential in the face of a weakened economic outlook.

Ockham Research currently rates Dell a Strong Buy, as it has fallen out favor with the market for some time and the company’s recovery appears to be underway. Price-to-cash flow is currently only 12.22, which is 50% of Dell’s historical average. Likewise, price-to-sales also demonstrates the current cheapness of the stock. We would consider a price-to-sales of 1.16 to 1.96 as normal for this stock, but the current number is only .749 times sales per share. Given current fundamentals, we would expect Dell to trade at about $35 per share. The current price would need to appreciate by fifty percent to bring these metrics into a normal standing.

Dell management apparently agrees that its stock is undervalued, as the company closed a $1.5 billion private placement in April in order to buy back stock. The company bought back more than $1 billion or 52 million shares in the first quarter. Furthermore, at quarter end, Dell had $9.8 billion in cash, so expect the company to continue to buy back stock aggressively in the second quarter.

(taken from: here)

China Lifts Malaysian, Indonesian Palm Oil Sales

2008-06-02T00:02:00.000+07:00

Consumption of palm oil by its No. 1 importer is expected to jump as rising global demand hikes prices for the cheapest of the edible oils

At an oil palm estate near Melaka Town in peninsular Malaysia, the harvesters are winding up the day. The Regent Estate, owned by IOI Corporation, employs around 300 workers in all. With the sky turning dark and little shelter out in the plantation, the harvesters hurry to avoid being caught in a tropical downpour.

One harvester, a Bangladeshi national, cuts down a final bunch of fruit from a palm. He swings his sickle—modified with an elongated, four-meter-long handle—and a cluster of yellowish-orange palm oil fruit falls from the tree. It hits the ground with a heavy thud.

Once these fruits are crushed and refined into palm oil, there is a good chance they will end up in China. IOI exported 230,000 tons of palm oil products to China last year, accounting for 6% of Malaysia's total palm oil exports to the country. Malaysia itself is responsible for 40% of world palm oil output.

The versatile commodity is used as cooking oil, in food and cosmetics processing, and myriad other industries. China, perhaps unsurprisingly, is the world's biggest importer of palm oil.

"If we look at the major importers, China has been number one for many years," said Ivy Ng, who researches palm oil plantation stocks at investment bank CIMB in Kuala Lumpur.

Palm oil, traditionally unglamorous, has lately become a hot commodity. According to investment bank Credit Suisse crude palm oil prices rose 38%—from US$917 a ton to US$1,265 a ton—over a 12-week period from the start of December. There haven't been highs like this since 1998.

China is a key driver of these towering prices. The disastrous snowstorms this winter mean the spring rapeseed harvest will likely be poorer than planned. Rapeseed is a major source of edible oil in China, and palm oil imports are expected to make up the difference. At the same time, broader trends, like China's increasingly wealthy population, also mean individuals are consuming more oil than before.

"China was consuming a very low amount of edible oil per person compared to some of the more developed countries," Ng said. "But over the past few years they've been catching up."

Increasing demand from China isn't the only reason for palm oil's current popularity. Demand is rising across the developing world while biofuel policies introduced in developed countries are another contributing factor. In Europe and the US, the commodity is a substitute for rapeseed and other edible oils, which are increasingly being used for fuel purposes.

Of the 17 types of edible oils and fats that are traded globally, palm oil remains the cheapest, going for US$300 less than soya oil, according to Credit Suisse.

The rivals
Palm oil's great rival in China is soybean oil, which is mainly imported from South America. China is the world's biggest soybean importer, buying 33.5 million tons last year, a CLSA report said. Soybean oil occupies 37% of the edible oils market in China, according to research firm Beijing Agribusiness, compared to palm oil's 21% share.

But palm oil has momentum on its side. In 2002, it overtook rapeseed oil to gain its current second-place position in terms of market share.

"Traditionally, the Chinese market is a big market for rapeseed oil; probably 15 years ago rapeseed oil was the number one oil, followed by soybean and then palm. But today the relationship has changed," said James Zhou, who heads Cargill's grain and oilseed supply chain unit in China.

History lessons
The fact that Southeast Asia and China are linked by palm oil is a quirk of geography and history. The plant is native to West Africa, and was first transported to Indonesia by the Dutch. In 1917, the first oil palm plantation was established in what is now peninsular Malaysia.

The Dutch transplantation turned out to be a felicitous move. According to Tan Teck Hock, an agronomist at IOI, oil palms grow best within five degrees latitude of the equator, and in areas with evenly distributed and heavy rainfall. Malaysia and Indonesian Borneo, in particular, with vast expanses of rainforest, were ideal candidates for plantations.

With China's rise, palm oil again seems to be benefiting from being in the right place at the right time.

"[Palm oil] is relatively cheap, and we can get palm oil from Malaysia, Indonesia, which is only about five to 11 days' voyage, depending on which part of China," said Cargill's Zhou. "Soybean oil is primarily from South America, it has a much longer voyage—40 to 45 days—and higher shipping freight costs."

The palm oil supply chain typically begins at an estate owned by one of the big plantation companies—firms like Singapore-listed Wilmar, Kuala Lumpur-listed Sime Darby or IOI.

Estates in Malaysia and Indonesia account for 90% of global palm oil output. In 2006, 65% of China's palm oil imports were from Malaysia, with nearly all the remainder coming from Indonesia, according to Beijing Agribusiness.

The plantation companies conduct agricultural research and planting at their estates. The palms are harvested for "fresh fruit bunches," the basic metric for estate output, which are transported to nearby mills for crushing and separation. Mills process the fruit bunches to produce crude palm oil and extract the fruit kernels before shipping it all to a refinery. The crude palm oil is bleached and deodorized to produce RBD palm oil. Kernel oil is turned into oleochemicals or specialty fats that are used in cosmetics and soap manufacturing, and in food processing as products like cocoa butter substitutes.

An additional step of fractionation produces palm olein, a liquid, and stearin, a solid. These are used for making things like margarine or as ingredients in ice cream, for example.

From Southeast Asian refineries, the oil is imported into China. Wilmar, which has most of its plantations in Indonesia, is responsible for some 60% of palm oil imports to China, according to Cargill's Zhou. Unlike most producers, Wilmar is vertically integrated, running its own estates and refineries as well as handling imports to China and even producing end-products for the China market. Zhou's own firm imports about 10% into the country, mainly for selling on to second-tier traders or end-users.

One of the main applications of palm oil in China is industrial frying. As such, the country is very reliant on RBD palm oil, which is prized for its resistance to oxidation. This allows users to fry many batches of food without it going rancid.

"Palm oil has a big advantage over soya bean oil or other oils," said Wong Chee Kuan, who runs Loders-Krokland, the specialty fats subsidiary of IOI Corp, in the Netherlands. "With palm oil you are able to fry much longer with less deterioration in quality of oil."

Fried and dried
One industry that does plenty of industrial frying is instant noodle manufacturing. Instant noodles have to be fried to remove moisture in order to be preserved. Hong Kong-listed Tingyi, which claims to be the biggest instant noodle producer in the world by volume, has 32 factories in China. It pumps out 9 billion packets of its Master Kong brand instant noodles a year. Tingyi buys refined palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia.

According to Tingyi CFO Frank Lin, the palm oil price increases have eaten into the company's gross margins. He said palm oil makes up 12-18% of the cost of a packet of noodles. The higher-end the noodles and the more expensive the packaging, the lower the percentage. Instant noodles, in turn, make up about half of the company's annual turnover, which was US$2.3 billion in 2006.

"Our production costs and gross margin are squeezed by the rise in palm oil costs," he said.

Back at the estate, the harvesters are done for the day. They spent months learning how to wield their sickles efficiently—slicing a 20-kilogram fruit bunch off a 4-meter-tall tree is no easy task. But as China's demand for oil continues to rise, they can rest assured that they will have plenty more work in the coming years.

(taken from: here)

British Retail Inflation at 16-Year High

2008-06-01T23:59:00.001+07:00

A lethal combination of rising prices and falling sales has hit Britain's shops, according to the latest evidence from business leaders on the state of retailing.

Activity in the high street fell for a second consecutive month in May, according to the Confederation of British Industry, while retailers put up their prices at the fastest rate since 1992. Retail confidence and the employment outlook have also worsened slightly this month, the CBI Distributive Trades Survey revealed.

When asked about their year-on-year sales volumes, only 28 per cent of retailers said they had increased and 42 per cent said they had fallen. The resulting balance of minus 14 per cent is less severe than the minus 26 per cent reported last month.

Sales are expected to recover slightly next month, by a balance of 6 per cent.

More worryingly, prices of goods rose at their fastest rate in 16 years in the year to May, as shops passed on the extra costs of energy, food and raw materials. A positive balance of 56 per cent of companies said their average selling prices had gone up, the highest figure since May 1992.

A similar rate of price increases—a balance of 52 per cent—is expected next month. Food retailers, including the major supermarkets, had a good month, with a positive balance of 51 per cent reporting year-on-year growth. Clothing sales stabilised, while footwear and leather outlets enjoyed another successful month.

However, the number of people visiting high street shops in May was down 1.5 per cent on last year's total, according to the latest Retail Footfall Index from the research group Experian.

Ian McCafferty, the CBI's chief economic adviser, said: "It is encouraging that retailers can see some recovery in sales next month, but they are not optimistic about the business outlook and retail conditions are likely to remain tough."

The combination of stagnating sales co-existing with rising inflation—so-called "stagflation"—is a product of the unprecedented convergence of a credit crunch and a commodities crunch, which has squeezed profits and household incomes.

Earlier this month, the Bank of England warned that living standards would rise only very slowly over the next few years. Falls in consumer confidence and house prices confirm the outlook for the economy as a whole remains gloomy.

The conflicting data make the dilemma facing the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, which will make its next decision on interest rates on Thursday, even more acute.

Michael Saunders, an analyst at Citi European Economics, said: "These readings, and the plunge in house prices, highlight the deteriorating prospects for the economy, but there are also signs that the inflation overshoot will be bigger and more protracted than the MPC has been expecting.

"The MPC has warned that an extended period of sub-trend growth is probably needed to bring inflation back to target. Very tough times lie ahead."

(taken from: here)

How to Stop Heartburn

2008-06-01T23:27:00.000+07:00

There are two trends of thought on how to stop heartburn. The first (my own preferred method) is to for you to go on the offensive, in other words, stop heartburn before it starts! Naturally the second trend will be the other end of the scale, where the answer isn’t quite as cut and dried, but the question, “How to stop heartburn?” becomes even more important to you.

If we start with how to stop heartburn before it begins, then we go to the more preventative side of medicine, where good habits replace bad, and common sense overtakes us at just the right time - (when do you know this to happen? But hey, there's never been a better place to start)!

However, since we are only human, most of us possess within ourselves one gigantic flaw. We don’t see what’s right under our noses. Yes, that’s right, back to the commonsense not kicking in at the right time... If scientists were able to go back in time and bring back a woolly mammoth, and place it right in front of you, chances are that you wouldn’t even notice until it was standing right on top of you. Hey even then some people would just refuse to admit that there was a woolly mammoth standing on them - after all who would believe them unless they saw it for themselves?

Well, heartburn is the woolly mammoth, scientists are scientists - that doesn’t mean that they can bring back a woolly mammoth, (at least not yet) - and we are, well, basically human. There’s a good chance you don’t even realise that you’re suffering from heartburn, and therefore that you need to know how to stop heartburn.

Either way, whether you’re on the offensive to stop heartburn, or the defensive, there a few things you can do and they all come under the heading “How to stop Heartburn”.

You’ve probably heard all of this before a hundred times and more, but constant repetition is the best way to learn something, and if you want to learn how to stop heartburn, this is probably the easiest way.

So, to recap, in blissfully short sentences what you’ve already heard: Don’t wear tight clothing, especially after a meal. Stay away from the booze, and stop heading to those cordoned off smoking areas to get your daily fix. No heavy meals. Don’t sleep immediately after a meal. Sleep on your left side if you are going to sleep regardless of the advice. Try your hardest not to undertake your exercise programme right after a meal. Avoid such pleasure inducing foods and drinks as, orange juice, lemon tea, coffee, milk, cheese, and generally anything that contatins caffeine, too much dairy or quite a bit of fat. If you suffer from headaches, don’t take any form of aspirin, find something else that works for you. And if you already suffer from night-time heartburn and you want a good night’s sleep, then sleep in as comfortable a half reclining position as you can find for yourself, where your head is at a higher level than your stomach (but remember to protect your back by supporting it adequately with the right type of pillows to keep you in this position).

The last one does only apply to sufferers of night-time heartburn, and isn’t necessarily a way to prevent heartburn although it can help to keep the stomach acids from refluxing.

So now that you’re armed with the short but sweet version of “How to stop Heartburn”, you may wish to get cracking (and maybe think about donating your stores of liquor to a person who is not so susceptible to heartburn).

(taken from: here)

$100 Laptop Gets Redesigned

2008-06-01T12:29:00.000+07:00

Tossing aside its iconic green-and-white laptop with its distinctive antennas, One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is pursuing a smaller 2.0 version, scheduled for release in 2010, in which dual touch screens will replace the keypad. The new version will have lower power consumption and a $75 price--a figure that OLPC claims is achievable despite the fact that the current model, the XO, sells for nearly double the sum mentioned in its "$100 laptop" moniker.

With its hinged dual display, the new version could be used as a book, as a laptop with a touch-screen keypad, or as one continuous display when folded flat. "The display is going to get better and better, and it's key to the next generation," Nicholas Negroponte, founder of OLPC, said yesterday at a launch event at the MIT Media Lab.

The redesign is OLPC's latest effort to revitalize global adoption of its machines. Last week, OLPC announced that the current version will soon have the option of running on Microsoft Windows; previously, the machines only ran on the GNU/Linux operating system, plus a custom interface called Sugar that emphasizes collaboration among children. With the addition of Windows, OLPC hopes to boost sales to countries, such as Egypt, that already use Windows software in schools.

Pixel Qi, the display-technology startup founded by former OLPC chief technology officer Mary Lou Jepsen, will collaborate in the development of the new computer. Its smaller size will make the laptops easier for children to carry than the previous, larger version, Negroponte said yesterday. And despite the smaller size, the display will be larger--when both screens are used--than the one on the current version. Because the machine will have no keypad, there will be fewer mechanical parts to break. And whereas the current XO consumes only two to four watts--one-tenth of the amount consumed by a conventional laptop--the next-generation version will use as little as one watt.

But until the new machine comes online, the existing XO will continue to be sold. Only about 600,000 hard orders have come in--a far cry from the 100 million that, two years ago, Negroponte said he was hoping to obtain by 2008. And last week's announcement that the XO will have the option of using Windows or the existing Linux-based operating system has led to some debate among education officials. Yesterday, Oscar Becerra, a Peruvian education ministry official who directs the OLPC deployment under way there, says that he sees little value in adding Windows for computers in primary schools.

The extra cost of $10 for the Windows version is not trivial, he says: "If I have 10 dollars, I will decide what to do with it." Right now, Becerra is scrambling to find funds to buy thousands of small solar-powered rechargers--at $20 each--for machines that he is deploying to villages that lack electricity.

Some open-source software advocates see an additional high cost of adding Windows. Richard Stallman, a pioneer of the GNU operating system and founder of the Free Software Foundation, says that he is now motivated to try to ignite grassroots opposition. "It's an issue of freedom versus power," he said in a telephone interview from Taiwan. "Proprietary software is under the power of its developer, and it puts the user under the power of the developer. This is like handing out samples of an addictive drug--not something that schools ought to do."

But executives of OLPC and other observers defend the action, noting that since the OLPC educational software platform, known as Sugar, will now run on Windows, the move will promote OLPC's mission far more widely. "The open-source community continues writing software for the Sugar interface," Charles Kane, OLPC's new president, said yesterday. "There is a community in the Linux world that continues to contribute to the ongoing success of this." But, he added, with the existing XOs, "we're trying to make a transition in a form that makes us successful in the marketplace."

(taken from: here)

Seven Exercises You Can Do at Home

2008-06-01T11:53:00.000+07:00

When I first started training in the gym, the upper body seemed extremely complicated. There were muscles running in all different directions doing all sorts of different things. But in reality, the upper body does only two things: It pushes and it pulls. (For previous columns on putting on muscle, go to week one, or week two)

We’ll start with “compound” exercises that work several muscles at once. The squat, which we learned last week, is a compound exercise for the lower body. Pushing exercises are compound exercises for the chest, while pulling movements are compound exercises for the upper back. After that, depending on your time and energy, you can stop or continue with “isolation” exercises for specific muscles of the shoulders and arms.

Do all your exercises in front of the mirror and watch your form carefully. And breathe while you do these exercises! Exhale on the part of the exercise that feels harder and inhale on the part that feels easier. But the most important thing is to keep breathing!

Dumbbell Chest Press
Here’s your pushing exercise for the chest. For this exercise, using no weight at all is usually a bit too light, even for first-timers, so start with one or two-pound dumbbells. If you don’t have dumbbells, use small soup cans. (Just make sure they’re the same weight!) Sit on the end of a bench and hold your weights on your hips; then, keeping the hands and weights on your hips, roll back onto the bench.

If you don’t have a bench, not to worry; you can do this exercise on the floor. Just place the weights within reach and then lie down carefully on your back. Now position your arms and hands so that you look like you’re doing an upside-down pushup (which is exactly what this exercise is). In other words, stick your upper arms straight out to the sides from your shoulders, keep your elbows level with your shoulders, and bend the elbows at a 90-degree angle with your palms facing away from you. If you’re on a bench, don’t let your elbows drop below shoulder height; if you’re on the floor, don’t let your arms rest on the floor. This is your starting position.

Now press the hands up and together, straightening the arms to their full length without hyperextending (“locking”) the elbows. When the arms are fully extended, your hands should meet over your breastbone (sternum). Return to the starting position and repeat. When you’re done, if you’re on a bench, park the weights on your hips again and rock your body until you can roll back up to a seated position. If you’re on the floor, set the weights aside and sit up carefully (the safest way to do this is to roll onto your side and use your hands to help push yourself up). Never sit up holding the weights in the air; it’s bad for your lower back!

Dumbbell Back Rows
Now for your pulling exercise, which works the upper back. Like the chest presses, it’s better to do these with light weights rather than none at all. Sit on a chair with your feet close together on the floor. Keeping a straight back, bend forward from the hips until your upper back faces the ceiling rather than the wall behind you. (But don’t round your back; move the entire torso as one unit.) With a weight in each hand, let your hands dangle outside your knees with your palms facing your sides. This is your starting position. Now, keeping the elbows close to the body, pull the elbows back and up as far as you can, squeezing the shoulder blades together. Keep the palms facing each other and the elbows close to the sides. Imagine that you have paint on the inner surfaces of your elbows and that you are trying to smear your shirt with it. Lower slowly to the starting position and repeat.

Congratulations! You’ve just worked all the upper-body muscles. If you wish to continue, here are some “isolations” to help tone specific muscles.

Shoulders
Try all these shoulder exercises without weights to begin with. If they feel too easy, and if you don’t feel any sensation of strain in the shoulders when you do them, you can add one-pound weights. If your shoulders aren’t sure they like these movements, don’t add weights right away.

Overhead (military) presses: These work the front of the shoulder. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart with your knees slightly flexed. Stand tall (use that mirror!). Hold your arms out to the sides at shoulder height. Then bend your elbows at a 90-degree angle. Your palms should be facing front. Tilt your forearms and hands slightly forward rather than pointing them straight up. This is your starting position. Now press the hands up, slightly forward (that is, not straight up overhead) and together, simultaneously straightening the arms to their full length without hyperextending (“locking”) the elbows. When your arms are fully extended, the hands should meet in a position just above the top of your field of vision. Return to the starting position. Repeat.

Alternative, Front raises: If the overhead press bothers your shoulders, try this one instead. Start in the same position, but hold your arms down in front of you with the palms facing the body. Keeping the arms straight, but without locking the elbows, raise the arms to the front, stopping just above shoulder height, keeping your palms down. Hold, then slowly lower. Repeat.

Lateral (side) raises: These work the middle of the shoulder. Step forward on one foot so that you are leaning at a slight angle with the middle of your shoulder facing the ceiling. The body should be straight, i.e. not bent at the waist. Start with your arms straight down, palms in. Now raise your arms to the sides, keeping them straight, until they reach shoulder height, palms still facing the floor. Lower slowly and repeat. You’ll look kind of like a large bird slowly flapping its wings. If you feel any shoulder strain, just do one arm at a time (but be careful to stay straight; don’t lean away from the working arm; that’s cheating). You can also do this exercise with bent elbows if the straight-arm version is too challenging at first.

Bicep Curl
Start with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Hold a weight in each hand with the palms facing out. Place your elbows close to your sides, and keep them glued there throughout the exercise; that is, be careful not to let the elbows move forward or back. (It’s harder than it sounds!) Now bend your elbows and raise your hands as high as you can without either moving your elbows or curling your wrists. Lower slowly to the starting position and repeat.

Tricep Kickback
This is a good one for firming up the triceps muscle on the back of the upper arm, the one that stereotypically flops around on people’s arms when they write on a board or wave. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Hold a weight in one hand with the palm facing your side. Take a big step forward with the opposite foot and rest the non-working arm (the one without the weight) on that thigh. Now raise the working arm so that the elbow is at shoulder height and pointing behind you, with your upper arm parallel to the floor. Keeping that upper arm parallel to the floor, straighten the elbow until your whole arm is parallel to the floor. Be careful not to move your elbow or curl your wrist (the mirror is helpful here).

Slowly bend the elbow again until the hand with the weight is pointing to the floor (do not bring the weight farther forward than your side; this is wasted motion). Your upper arm should remain parallel to the floor throughout this exercise; if it starts to drop down, it means you’re fatigued, and you have finished your set. Do a set on this side; then repeat on the opposite side.

(taken from: here)

Attacking Anxiety Depression

2008-06-01T11:41:00.000+07:00

Attacking anxiety depression is another problem that sufferers of anxiety disorders might have to deal with. Unfortunately if you suffer from constant anxiety attacks there’s a reasonable chance that you might also suffer from depression at some point. This doesn’t necessarily follow, but due to the stress and the negative lifestyle impact that you experience as part of the anxiety disorder, there is an increased risk.

This is by no means a given however, merely a statement of fact. You may not be one of the anxiety sufferers who finds themselves looking for a way of attacking anxiety depression, but if you do find yourself regularly feeling unable to cope with the many stresses that your anxiety attacks bring upon you, then it is possible that you will also find yourself fighting depression alongside your anxiety.

Generally speaking though anxiety depression manifests itself over a course of time and often it happens so gradually that you’ll probably be unaware of it until some time has passed. The risk is that if you allow your anxiety attacks to become a controlling factor in your life without seeking help, then as your anxiety attacks deepen so too will your anxiety depression risk or symptoms increase.

The helpless feelings you experience as part of your anxiety attacks, that sheer inability and frustration of not being able to control your reactions to stressors, can be enough to trigger anxiety depression. Be aware that this, coupled with the debilitating fear that takes hold of you, can sometimes lead to severe depression, leading to a vicious cycle as the depression in turn contributes to increased anxiety attacks. If you recognise this pattern, attacking anxiety depression head-on is the best thing that anyone can do to break free of this cycle. There are many ways that you can do this, but the first step is in getting a consultation with your doctor, or a trained mental health professional.

The simplest and most often used method for attacking anxiety depression is found in the form of medication. Your doctor will advise you here, although there is a chance that if you’re already taking medication to treat your anxiety you’ll already be taking some form of anti-depressant medication. This is likely because the drugs used to treat anxiety are often the same drugs that are used to treat depression. If this is the case for you, don’t despair, but if you do still feel depressed, talk with your doctor as soon as possible about changing your medication for one that is better suited to you. We are all individuals and occasionally it may take a change of medication to find the one that suits you best. You do not have to suffer with this condition, speak to your doctor and ask his advice and guidance.

Another great method for attacking anxiety depression, often used in conjunction with medication, is to engage in sessions with a qualified therapist. A qualified therapist will be able to help you to alleviate both your anxiety symptoms and your depression, but as talking therapy is a longer term strategy, you will often find that you will need to use prescribed medication at the start of therapy to help to give you the boost that you need to be able to take those first steps towards managing your symptoms and taking back control of your life. Never underestimate the power of talking but don’t be angry with yourself if you do also need to use prescribed medication as a short term crutch to help you take those first steps.

There are many alternative and natural methods these days that you can use to help with attacking anxiety depression. These methods range from the use of herbs in your daily life to the use of various alternative treatments such as Ayurveda or Acupuncture.

Some of these methods might not work for you, because we are all unique. Remember that your best recourse in attacking anxiety depression lies in recognising the symptoms and deciding that you are going to work with your doctor or qualified mental health professional until you find the right method for you. Always take qualified medical advice when you are preparing to try out any new treatment method.

(taken from : here)

Stress Management

2008-06-01T11:36:00.000+07:00

These days when life has become so fast paced & we spend much of our time wondering where exactly the hours have gone, stress & stress related illnesses are becoming an increasing part of our lives. Our bodies are not really designed to cope well with constantly heightened tension & anxiety levels (although there are some people who seem to thrive on this).

Here again it is thought that moderation is the key. Many scientists believe that a certain amount of tension is necessary to maintain health, ie. we all need to experience a certain amount of tension / excitement, perhaps of waiting for an announcement, such as your exam results or the outcome of a job interview. What causes a problem is when our autonomic nervous system, which is the system affected by tension, fear, anger type emotions, enabling us to facilitate an appropriate response to the situation - or the "fight or flight" syndrome, is bombarded by a continuous stream of tension, anxiety, fear etc.

This in turn leads to a kind of system overload & causes the autonomic nervous system to go on strike, leading to exhaustion & a flattening of mood as we are no longer able to respond appropriately to the emotional overload we have experienced. Stress related illnesses can include Depression, Hypertension, Heart problems, Allergies & Heartburn.

These are real illnesses which require medical attention. Another possible effect of prolonged stress is post traumatic stress syndrome or PTSD where we may have coped effectively with the stressful event as it occurred but then later, perhaps we can't stop thinking about it & the autonomic nervous system "forgets" to stop sending out signals to the rest of the body warning it of threat & keeping it in a heightened state of awareness until it reaches the "on strike" stage.

How then can we deal with stress on a daily level so that we don't experience this problem with our nervous system?

Simple methods for dealing with stress & anxiety involve several factors. Eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep & making space in your day for some "me" time are some of the most basic helping factors. "Me" time can be a work-out at the gym, a dance class, a meeting with a friend, reading a book or taking a leisurely soak in a scented bath. Whatever makes you feel good about yourself counts here. (Sometimes these things need a counterbalance, for example if eating a litre of ice-cream makes you feel good about yourself, you would need to limit this activity & factor in the calories involved to your daily allowance in order not to gain weight rapidly & maybe then begin to feel bad about yourself?)

Techniques for reducing your feelings of stress in real time include some very simple things, like:

Making a conscious effort to find something to smile about. Whilst you are focusing on finding something good to think about, you are letting go of some of the thoughts that are causing you tension. So if you are in a roomful of people that you don't know & this is making you anxious, whilst you are scanning the room looking for someone you know, consciously think of an event or a situation which has made you happy & smile, you will be surprised by how many people will want to talk to you if you are smiling & looking comfortable, as if you belong, (laughing out loud is not a good idea here as it tends to have the opposite effect so do be careful what you choose to think about!).

Teach yourself the difference between aggression & assertiveness, learn to use assertiveness for yourself & to recognise it in others. Being assertive involves standing your ground, calmly & quietly, not allowing yourself to be backed into a corner or overlooked. Assertive is when you are feeing threatened in some way & instead of responding with aggression by maybe shouting or lashing out, or perhaps cowering in you corner, you approach the cause of your fear. For example if someone is trying to put you down in some way, being assertive might involve calmly asking them why they feel the need to behave that way, maybe asking them why they seem to feel that it is necessary to belittle you. At this point you would be aiming to "take the wind out of that persons' sails" by highlighting their bad behaviour & your own adult response to it, turning the situation around on them. Don't get caught up in a shouting match or flounce out of the room, neither of these responses, remotely counts as assertive & both will lessen your standing in this situation & create more stress for you in the long run.
When you respond to somebody in an assertive way you are giving them back responsibility for their behaviour rather than blaming yourself for it & allowing them to make you feel more stressed or inadequate.

Breathe slowly & deeply, it is difficult to experience a high level of stress when you are breathing deeply. As you breathe in, think of the situation that is causing the problem, then as you slowly exhale, concentrate on letting go of the stress emotion & allow your mind to clear a little, a solution or suitable response will usually come to you. If you open your mind by letting go of the stress, often a solution will seem to pop into your mind from nowhere. Whereas what really happened was that previously your mind was too full of the stress to be able to allow the solution any space.

Learn to like yourself. Work hard at whatever you choose to do but always remember that you are human, & as humans there are times when we will all make mistakes or find things difficult. As humans we are allowed.
Set small goals for yourself that are obtainable. Break down tha major achievement you want to make into small steps that you can take towards it & acknowledge your success to yourself as you make these small steps. Celebrate the little things that you achieve along the way so that you can fully enjoy that big goal when you have attained it. If you have a plan, or structure to follow to enable you to reach your goal, you are far more likely to achieve it as your mind will be able to come up with solutions to each of the smaller problems that you encounter along the way & deal with them without losing track of that overall aim.

Don't tell me - sounds too easy to be true! Believe me it sounds easier than it is, but as many life coaches are teaching these days, the simpler methods are often the best.
Working to achieve the small things that will help us to reach that big goal enables to have fun & experience some personal development & happiness along the way.
If we are only focused on the bigger picture all the time, we risk losing not only any vestige of self-awareness we may possess but also the ability to enjoy it when we do get there.

(taken from : here)

Water Gardening and Hydroponics Gardening

2008-06-01T11:33:00.000+07:00

What is the difference between Water Gardening and Hydroponics? Well, basically, water gardening involves the creation of ponds and water features, whereas Hydroponics, relates to the use of water rather than soil as a growing medium for your plants, (flowers and vegetables).

Water gardening can be quite an arduous task. When planned and carried out correctly however, water gardening is a hugely rewarding project, and one that will later provide hours of contented relaxation.

Planning is more important than ever here, however large or small your garden area is and if you already have a small lake, pond or stream in your garden, your water gardening efforts be made much easier. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of us, this is just not an option, so the majority of us will just have to build our water gardens from scratch.

The basics of water gardening usually involve building a pond and there are plenty of DIY books on the market these days to help with this. Your pond will need to be designed in a way that will fit within your garden confines, (not forgetting any budget confines). Once your design is ready, mark out the edges and start digging to the required depth, then line with pond liner and weight down with stones and plant pots, as required.

Remember that if you want your pond to house fish you’ll need to build this into your plan from the beginning to ensure that you provide a liveable habitat for them. Hardier fish that can survive winter are a must if you want them to live for some time. Koi, and Goldfish are the most popular varieties, but your local aquarium can provide you with more information. Also keep in mind that Koi tend to grow to about 2 feet in length when fully mature, so it’s desirable to leave them some swimming room for later on.

The other beauty of water gardening is the Lotus flower which is very popular and easy to grow. Indeed there are many varieties and shades in the Lotus family to help you to choose the right ones to match in with the rest of your garden. Don’t overfill your pond with lotus or other plants as you don’t want your water garden to look too cluttered, although you do need to provide shade for the fish as well as beauty for yourself.

So whilst your water gardening efforts may well require the use of many muscles you would prefer not to be reminded of with the digging and bending, we come to the idea of hydroponics gardening, which may well provide you with the opportunity for some relief from the back-ache. To find out how, read on:

Hydroponics gardening is based around two main systems, a drip system, and an ebb and flow system. The term hydroponics gardening is derived from the Greek words ‘hydro’ for water, and ‘ponics’ for labour, and hydroponics in gardening terms is the name given to a type of soil-free gardening that depends entirely on a water based system that is enriched with nutrients.

These nutrients can either be added in the form of specially formulated chemicals for hydroponics gardening, or they can come as a variety of natural nutritional ingredients found in nature itself. The use of either nutrient form is solely dependent upon you, the gardener.

Since hydroponics gardening is a soil free system, containers are the best methods for growing, and there are a number of different varieties of containers and pots available. The plants also need something to get their roots into, and for this, different gardeners have their own preferences. Shale is a simple and easy solution, especially for inexperienced hydroponics gardeners. If you undertake a little bit of research however, you may decide that Hydroton or Rockwool would be a better growing medium for you than shale would be. (For example, hydroton and shale can be used in an ebb and flow system, whilst horticultural Rockwool can be used with just about any system of passing the nutrient enriched water to the plants).

There are other options for the hydroponics gardener to choose from, but I will explain here only the two systems that I mentioned earlier. The ebb and flow system uses a pump to respectively flood and then drain your containers at regular intervals, whereas the drip system uses a continuous drip that supplies a steady ration of water solution that’s right for each plant.

It is also important to note here that hydroponics gardens have a higher growth rate, and many gardeners take advantage of this factor to create high yield vegetable and fruit gardens.

Now that you’ve been introduced to the concept of hydroponics gardening, who knows, with a little more research you may decide to set up your own hydroponics system and keep yourself year round in fresh fruits and vegetables! Just imagine, no mud, less bending, perhaps even more fun!

(taken from : here)

Injury rules Babel out of Euros

2008-06-01T11:26:00.000+07:00

Netherlands winger Ryan Babel will play no part in the Euro 2008 championship after he tore ankle ligaments in training on Saturday.

The 21-year-old Liverpool star had been expected to play some part of the team's final warm-up match against Wales in Rotterdam on Sunday.

And he was set to be a key part of Marco van Basten's squad for the tournament in Austria and Switzerland.

Van Basten has called up defender Khalid Boulahrouz as a replacement.

The Netherlands are in Group C along with France, Italy and Romania for Euro 2008, which kicks off on 7 June.

Van Basten also has a concern over the fitness of Arsenal striker Robin van Persie, who has been on the sidelines since joining the squad last week.

However, Van Persie is optimistic about making his side's opener against world champions Italy on 9 June.

"I am in the final phase of my recovery. I feel fit," Van Persie told NOS network.

(taken from : here)

Building a Better Wall Climber

2008-06-01T11:06:00.000+07:00

Researchers have designed a robot that uses a novel form of electrically activated adhesion to enable it to scale any kind of vertical surface. The robot can even climb surfaces that are dusty or wet, be they concrete, glass, or drywall.

"What's really unique about this is the technology, not the robot," says Harsha Prahlad, senior mechanical engineer at SRI International, a nonprofit research organization based in Menlo Park, CA. There are other robots that can climb walls. But these have usually involved using microscopic fibers designed to mimic the function of the hairlike setae that give geckos their remarkable sticking power, Prahlad says.

In contrast, SRI's robot works by inducing electrostatic charges in the surface of a wall. The advantage here is that the adhesive climbing surfaces of the robot can be turned off, making movement much simpler, says Prahlad. It also makes the robot's adhesive surfaces self-cleaning, he says, thereby avoiding any gradual buildup of dust and dirt that would ultimately reduce the adhesion.

Tests have shown that the robot is capable of generating 1.5 newtons of sticking force per centimeter square of contact with a wall. Presenting his results at this year's International Conference on Robotics and Automation, in Pasadena, CA, Prahlad showed that the robot was able to scale walls while carrying weights of up to 75 pounds.

"It's an interesting and robust approach," says Metin Sitti, a mechanical engineer at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, who has been working on wall-climbing robots for some time. However, he says, the forces generated are just one-tenth as strong as is currently being seen when the gecko-inspired approach is used.

On the plus side, however, the simplicity of Prahlad's approach should make it easier to apply to human wall-climbing applications, says Nicola Pugno, a professor of structural mechanics at Turin Polytechnique, in Italy, who has been working on a sort of Spiderman suit using nanotube-covered adhesive surfaces.

"There is no fundamental reason why you can't scale this up to, say, 200 pounds," says Prahlad. So with a suitable interface, it should be possible to allow a human to use this technology to climb walls, he says. However, such a system would require large pads to increase the surface contact of a person's hands. Otherwise, there would not be enough sticking power to support his or her weight, says Prahlad.

The attractive forces that create the adhesion come from electric fields generated by positive and negative electrodes within the surface pads of the robot, says Prahlad. When a high voltage is applied to these electrodes, positive and negative charges build up, which, in turn, attracts opposite charges from the surface of a wall near the electrodes.

These charges are similar to the electrostatic charges generated when a person walks across a carpet, says Prahlad. The difference is that with the robot, the charges are generated by a power supply, and the electrodes are well insulated so that the field strength between the electrodes is great. What's more, there is no neutralization, or grounding, of this charge when contact with the wall is made (and there is therefore no spark).

Individually, the attractive forces between opposite charges within the robot and the wall are tiny, says Prahlad. But cumulatively, they are sufficient to hold the robot to the wall.

In its current form, the robot, featuring off-the-shelf components, moves pairs of tracks, like a tank, in which each tread is made up of strips of flexible sheets containing the pairs of electrodes. These sheets look a bit like Post-it notes and make contact with the wall as the tread moves around, peeling off again as the tread leaves the wall. However, this design is merely for convenience, says Prahlad. The beauty of electroadhesion is that you don't have to peel the pad off, which can't be said for the geckolike adhesion approach.

The flip side to this, says Pugno, is that you need a power supply to maintain adhesion. If your power supply fails, then so does your stickiness. Even so, what is most remarkable about this approach is just how little power is needed to maintain adhesion. For although 5,000 volts are applied to the electrodes, a current of just 50 nano amps drives this, meaning that only microwatts of power are used. The vast majority of the power is spent driving the motors that turn the robot's sticky, tank-like tracks. In theory, if the same technology were used to stick a picture on a wall, a small battery could keep it hanging for decades before running out.

Prahlad says that some of the robotic applications are for military purposes, such as to allow robots to set up ad hoc networks by scaling structures in urban or rural battlegrounds, or for surveillance applications.

Electroadhesion is not a new concept and has even been proposed as a means of lifting silicon wafers during chip manufacturing, says Sitti. "However, its application to climbing robots is new." What would be interesting now is to see how a hybrid approach works using setae-like fibers that also have electroadhesive properties, he says. This could potentially provide the robot with a stronger grip.

(taken from : here)

Chelsea refused Ancelotti talks

2008-06-01T10:54:00.000+07:00

AC Milan have rejected an approach from Chelsea for permission to talk to coach Carlo Ancelotti about the vacant manager's position at Stamford Bridge.

The Premier League and Champions League runners-up began their search for a new boss after sacking Avram Grant.

"(Chelsea) asked for our permission and naturally everything stopped there," Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani told the Serie A club's website.

"He and another Italian coach were at the top of Chelsea's list."

Chelsea sacked Grant on 24 May - three days after losing to Manchester United in the Champions League final - and also terminated the contract of assistant first-team coach Henk ten Cate five days later.

BBC Sport understands the other Italian coach to be Roberto Mancini, who was dismissed by Inter Milan this week despite leading the club to three successive Serie A titles.

It is also thought Blackburn's Mark Hughes and Portugal's Luis Felipe Scolari are among those on Chelsea's shortlist.

Ancelotti, 48, joined Milan from Juventus in 2001 and has since won Serie A once (2004) and the Champions League twice (2003, 2007).

As a player, Ancelotti helped the Rossoneri to two Serie A and two Champions League titles and he is one of five men to have won the Champions League as both a player and a coach.

In 2007, he signed two-year contract extension to keep him at Milan until 2010.

Galliani added: "The fact that our coach is sought after and esteemed pleases me a lot but Carlo Ancelotti will remain Milan's coach."

(taken from : here)

Beckham is captain again for England

2008-06-01T10:49:00.000+07:00

David Beckham was designated as captain for England’s game against Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, an honor for the midfielder whose international career appeared over after the World Cup.

This will be the first time Beckham has captained the team while playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Fabio Capello announced the move Saturday and has now chosen four different captains in his four games since becoming coach. The exhibition game Sunday will be Beckham’s 102nd appearance for England.

A permanent captain will not be appointed until England’s 2010 World Cup qualifiers in September against Andorra and Croatia. Capello said Beckham is a candidate.

“Never say never,” the coach said. “This is a new moment for the England team.”

Capello’s other three captains were Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry. Terry wore the armband for Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over the United States at Wembley, where Beckham played the first half.

Beckham already has led his country 57 times. The last time he captained England was at the 2006 World Cup, where the team lost in the quarterfinals to Portugal after a penalty-kick shootout.

His international career appeared done at 94 appearances when coach Steve McClaren dropped the star, who was then with Real Madrid. But Beckham helped Madrid win the Spanish league title and McClaren changed his mind.

England failed to qualify for the European Championship, which starts June 7 in Austria and Switzerland, and Capello has had only exhibitions since he took over in January.

“Tomorrow will be very important for me because it’s the last game away from home,” Capello said. “I want to know if some players have the confidence away from England.”

(taken from : here)

Mt. Bromo and Semeru, a spectacular volcanic landscape in East Java

2008-05-31T22:45:00.001+07:00

The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park covers some 800 square kilometers in the centre of East Java. It is the largest volcanic region in the province and there stands Mt. Semeru, which rises 3676 meters above sea level. At its northern end is the spectacular Tengger Caldera, Java's largest, with its 10 km barren desert-like sea of sand. Within the caldera rise the deeply fissured volcanic cones of Batok and Bromo, the latter is still active with a cavernous crater from which smoke blows skyward. Temperatures at the top of mount Bromo range about 5 to 18 degrees Celcius . To the south is a rolling upland plateau dissected by valleys and dotted with several small scenic lakes, extending to the foot of Mount Semeru, a towering grey forest-skirted cone dominating the southern landscape.

Tengger sandy area has been protected since 1919, and its believed to be the only conservation area in Indonesia, even probably in the world possessing a unique ocean and sand at the attitude about 2000 m above sea level. There are several mountains inside the calderas namely: Mt Watangan (2,661 m asl)., Mt Batok (2,470 m asl), Mt Kursi (2,581 asl), Mt Watangan (2,661 m asl), and Mt Widadaren (2,650 m asl).

On the fourteenth day of the Month Kasada, the inhabitants of Tengger Mountain range gather at the rim of Mount Bromo's active crater to present annual offerings of rice, fruit, vegetables, flowers, live stock and other local produce to the God of the Mountain, as adherents of religion combining elements of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism the Tenggerese ask for blessing from the supreme God, Sang Hyang Widi Wasa. This ceremony called Kesodo Ceremony.

While the Great Mountain or Semeru offer a wonderful place to 3 days hike. Serenity of small lakes and large meadows, a three hours struggling through loose screw to the peak and breathtaking views from peak Semeru explodes every half hour and sends billowing smoke upwards. These gases and belching lava make Semeru dangerous " stay well away from the vent. The fine scenery and bracing climate, easy access and reasonably visitor-oriented facilities make this one of the most popular reserves in Java.

Bromo Tengger Semeru can be reached by private and public vehicle. There are four gates to access the place, Probolinggo, Wonokitri, Ngadas and Lumajang. Probolinggo approach is the easiest and by fat the most popular route, especially if you go by public bus, Wonokitri is the closes and the easiest one if you go by private vehicle from Surabaya (5 hours journey). To get closer to Mt. Bromo you must rent 4x4 vehicles (there are many 4x4 vehicles rental there).

There are a few options that you can choose to stay. You can stay at The Bromo Guest House which is located at Ngadisari that lies 3 km from the crater rim. Or you can choose other hotels at Cemoro Lawang because it this situated at the crater rim.

Walking on the sea of sand and stepping up on the 249 steps to rim is worth to try. Enjoying the unique crater in crater, watching the dawn at Bromo is the main attractions in the area.

Its kindly hard to find some food at night, because mostly of warung are closed after 7.30 pm. If youre in Wonokitri area, theres some warung in Tosari market, which still open at 7-9 pm.

There are many souvenir shops around Mount Bromo viewpoints who are selling T-shirts, scarf that are made from wool and others. There are also street hawkers who are selling these things too at the caldera area.

You can moving around on foot and normally it will takes 2 hours, or you can ride a horse or even rent a jeep (for this two, you are suggested to ask first and make a negotiation)

Necessities for the trip include a torch, warm clothing, comfortable trekking shoes, and glove as a protection against the freezing temperature which hovers between zero to five degrees Celsius (33 to 41 degrees Fahrenheit).
If you buy or rent something please Bargain.
Sunrise starts at 5.00 am till 6.00 am (If werent cloudy), so you may leave from your hotel or guesthouse at 3 am or even less than that.
Before start trekking, hiking or climbing, be sure that you already eat, or you can bring some food and drink from your places of stay.
Otherwise, you can buy some food and drink on the nearest markets for your supply before you start your activities on mountain.
If you're come in the right time, you may possible to watch the annual ceremony of Kesodo.

(taken from : here)

Food labelling & food packaging

2008-05-31T22:25:00.000+07:00

Companies put a lot of work into researching and producing food labelling and food packaging of everything from biscuits to fruit or meat. It is often the key between the product and the buyer.

The food packaging will need to be practical as a form of storage, while at the same time selling the product to a consumer. If food was sold by itself it would no doubt be considerably cheaper. As a result, packaging is big business and is estimated at the moment as a £55 billion per year industry.

Food labelling of products offers information, legal or otherwise, that the consumer needs in order to help understand the food, it's ingredients and what it can be used for. The current Traffic Light system is in the news due to certain large supermarkets doing their own thing.

Despite this, Food labelling has legal rules. These stringent guidelines will determine what is written and will prevent companies from describing products as something they are not. It is, however, important to realise that although some information may not essentially be false, language can be manipulated leaving things open to interpretation.

Although there are many essential areas to pay attention to, if you are responsible for the production, it is imperative that care is taken in outlining the date, cooking and storage instructions. It's equally as important for the consumer as these are the factors which can lead to, or prevent bacterial growth and food poisoning.

The ‘best before' and ‘use by' dates are the indicators of when to consume the product by, whereas the ‘display until' is purely for the shops use.

(taken from : here)

Gerrard wants Barry at Liverpool

2008-05-31T16:54:00.000+07:00

Steven Gerrard has said he is "desperate" for Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry to join him at Liverpool.

Barry, who is expected to lead England against Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday, will talk about his future after he returns from international duty.

"I want Gareth Barry to become a Liverpool player. I am desperate for us to sign him," said Gerrard.

"He's a good player. I want Liverpool to be as strong as possible and Gareth Barry will certainly make us stronger."

Gerrard's comments are likely to rile Villa manager Martin O'Neill who has already criticised Liverpool's handling of the situation.

O'Neill is determined to keep hold of his captain and earlier this month claimed Liverpool's £10m cash plus player bid undervalued the midfielder.

But Gerrard, a good friend of the 27-year-old, believed Barry, who has two years remaining on his contract, needed to play Champions League football.

"Gareth Barry is someone who will improve Liverpool. We can't be disrespectful to Villa. He is still their player and we will see what happens," said Gerrard.

"Naturally, they are going to try and keep hold of him, and rightly so because he is one of their star men. He has been a fantastic servant for them over many years.

"I know all about Gareth, I am good friends with him off the pitch and I am desperate for us to sign him.

"You talk about improving the team, the starting XI and the squad, and Gareth will certainly help Liverpool to become a better team.

"It is easy to play with good players. I've been asked a lot of questions this season about Fernando Torres and the simple answer is 'it's easier playing with quality players' - and Gareth comes into that category."

Barry has only ever played for Villa and is due a testimonial, having signed professional forms with the club in February 1998.

Gerrard added: "I am sure Gareth will find it hard to leave Villa. He has been fantastic for them but, in football, sometimes opportunities come along where you can better your career.

"I think Gareth is 27 now and he needs to play Champions League football. In my opinion, he needs that now.

"I've enjoyed playing with him for England. He is quite an easy player to play with. He keeps it simple, he is easy to read and I certainly enjoy playing with him because I've got a good relationship on and off the pitch."

(taken from : here)

Boldly Going Back

2008-05-30T23:48:00.001+07:00

As early as next year, Red Rover, a prototype robotic vehicle being built at Carnegie Mellon University, may be sending back stunning images and video from the moon. William Whittaker, the CMU professor whose driverless SUV triumphed on a course of urban and suburban roads in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Urban Challenge last year, is using the same technologies in the one-meter-wide moon-bot (left, at a CMU test site).

The CMU team is an early entrant in a contest funded by Google and administered by the X Prize Foundation; $20 million will go to the first privately funded team whose rover reaches the moon, travels 500 meters, and returns images and data to Earth. Whittaker has formed a company, Astrobotic Technology, and is working with Raytheon and the University of Arizona on precision landing technologies. Nine other teams are also readying entries; X Prize estimates that their efforts could cost between $15 million and $100 million each. Despite the expense--and the competition--Whittaker is confident. "We have superior software for things like position estimation, route planning, and perception to sense the terrain," he boasts. But he did not elaborate on where his team will get funding.

A Robot's Giant Leap
Red Rover's planned 2009 mission

1. A conventional two-stage solid rocket will launch a lunar lander containing Red Rover on its five-day trip to the moon.

2. The lander's computer-vision system will lock on to lunar landmarks and guide the spacecraft to a soft landing.

3. The lander will touch down near the site of the historic July 20, 1969, manned Apollo landing.

4. Red Rover will detach an antenna and point it toward Earth to enable data transmission to Earth stations.

5. Red Rover will navigate the terrain, avoiding obstacles as it follows a course plotted by controllers on Earth. If it runs into trouble, the controllers can take over, piloting it remotely.

6. To be eligible for a $20 million prize, Red Rover must travel 500 meters, stopping twice to transmit high-resolution 360º photographs, normal and high-resolution videos, and self-portraits.

7. For additional prize money, the rover may drive five kilometers, search for and take pictures of old Apollo hardware, look for ice, and attempt to survive one frigid lunar night, which lasts 14.5 Earth days.

(taken from : here)

Ferguson outlines plan to retire within three years

2008-05-30T23:40:00.000+07:00

Alex Ferguson will retire as manager of Manchester United within the next three years, British media reported on Sunday.

Ferguson, 66, who guided Manchester United to victory in the Champions League final over Chelsea on Wednesday, told newspaper reporters: "I won't be managing here any more than three years at the very, very most. Without question. I can assure you of that."

Ferguson originally hinted that he would retire six years ago but changed his mind and has since gone on to become the most successful manager of all time in English soccer.

Wednesday's success against Chelsea in Moscow earned him his 20th major trophy since he took over at Old Trafford in 1986. In all, he has won 31 trophies, first with Aberdeen and then United.

Ferguson, speaking to Sunday newspaper reporters at Manchester United's Carrington training ground after returning from Moscow, was clear about his intentions.

"I won't be managing at 70, I can assure you of that," he said.

"I won't be managing here any more than three years at the very most and that's without question."

"You have to think about time for yourself. I think my wife deserves a bit of my time, too. The older you get, the more you feel guilty about it."

"My wife, Cathy, was the one who talked me out of retiring last time but she wouldn't do that now."

Ferguson, also said he had no immediate plans to step down, adding: "I know I would find it hard to give up managing United.

"I can't do it at the moment. The big fear has always been what would I do with myself, I know I'd find it hard."

"What I would really like to do in life is travel to places I have never been to. I would love to go to the States and spend three or four months there."

"But you do that once. What you are left with is the time when you wake up at six in the morning and you go to get out of bed and you suddenly say 'Oh yeah, I am finished, I don't do that any more.' That's going to be hard."

He also said that before he left he wanted to increase the capacity of Old Trafford to 83,000 from the current figure of 76,200, ensure Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo stayed at the club and sign a new striker this year.

(taken from : here)

Beckham scores goal, Galaxy get past Wizards

2008-05-27T23:54:00.000+07:00

David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle all scored in the second half to give the Los Angeles Galaxy a 3-1 victory over the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night.

The victory put the Galaxy (4-3-2) into first place in the Western Conference by two points over Colorado, which lost Saturday. The Wizards (3-4-2) extended their winless streak to four games.

Donovan forced a 1-1 tie in the 54th minute by scoring his league-leading ninth goal on a penalty kick. Then, in the 74th minute, Donovan freed Buddle with a pass into the penalty area, and Buddle converted from 10 yards.

"Landon Donovan played excellent in the second half," Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit said. "That was the key factor. We needed that from him."

The Wizards had a chance to tie the score in the 81st minute, but Chris Klein cleared Scott Sealy's shot away from an open net.

"When Landon and Buddle were running at us, I think the game opened up for them," Wizards midfielder Sacha Victorine said. "We never got control of the ball back."

Beckham ended the scoring in second-half stoppage time with a 70-yard shot into an empty net for his fourth goal.

Claudio Lopez, a veteran of two World Cups for Argentina, gave the Wizards a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute. Lopez intercepted a loose ball, faked a shot to get past the Galaxy's Brandon McDonald, dribbled for 3 yards and fired a 19-yard shot inside the right post.

"The first two minutes were ridiculous," Gullit said. "We looked nervous and we were giving the ball away. Sometimes, we forget what we need to do."

Klein set a league record by making his 94th consecutive start, breaking the mark held by Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.

Carlos Ruiz made his first appearance for the Galaxy since March 29 when he entered the game in the 84th minute. Ruiz underwent knee surgery April 2 after being tackled from behind by Colorado's Ciaran O'Brien in the season opener.

(taken from : here)

FIFA step up plan to restrict foreign players

2008-05-27T22:54:00.000+07:00

FIFA president Sepp Blatter is keen to press on with plans to restrict the number of foreign players in domestic leagues.

Blatter's plan has been unanimously agreed by FIFA's executive committee.

He intends to take his 6+5 proposal forward after getting the backing of the European confederation.

Blatter said on Tuesday that during two days of meetings in Sydney, FIFA's executive board had unanimously agreed on a resolution to take to Friday's Congress, "exploring" the implementation of the restrictive quota proposals.

"This will be more than just further talks and investigations," the FIFA president told a news conference.

A FIFA spokesman said the objectives of Blatter's 6+5 plan had been agreed unanimously by the FIFA executive committee, including UEFA president Michael Platini.

Blatter said he would be asking the congress, featuring representatives of FIFA's 208 member federations, to give the FIFA president a mandate to impose the same rules outside of Europe if required.

The plan aims to force soccer clubs by 2012 to start a match with at least six homegrown players, and limit the number of foreigners to five.

Blatter even wants other international sports federations to join the cause.

"The Congress shall request the FIFA and UEFA presidents together with the world of sport -- including the IOC -- to explore all possible means within the limits of law to implement this rule," he said.

The proposal targets some of Europe's biggest clubs and aims to restore "national identity" to the teams while reducing the drain of players from other continents.

Limits on the number of EU players in European leagues were successfully challenged under the 1995 Bosman ruling. But Blatter said having at least six players who are eligible to play for a country's national team would motivate young athletes.

The proposal faces opposition from clubs with large numbers of foreign-born players and those who want free-market rules to apply to soccer.

But Blatter said he would meet with the president of the European parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, on June 5 in Brussels to further lobby for support.

He is proposing the stepped introduction of a 4+7 system in 2010, increasing to 5+6 in 2011 and 6+5 in 2012.

(taken from : here)

Roma gain Inter revenge in Cup

2008-05-26T01:04:00.000+07:00

AS Roma retained the Italian Cup after a 2-1 victory over Champions Inter Milan at the Stadio Olimpico here on Saturday to gain revenge for their defeat in the Serie A title race.

Goals from French centre-back Philippe Mexes and Italy midfielder Simone Perrotta sealed a ninth cup success, making them the most successful team in Italian cup history, alongside Juventus.

Inter substitute Vitor Pele scored a goal that even his more illustrious namesake - the Brazilian legend who won three World Cups - would have been proud of with a stunning 30-yard volley into the top corner that left Roma's Brazilian goalkeeper Doni rooted to the spot.

The two sides have contested the last four cup finals and Roma squared the recent mini-series following Inter's victories in 2005 and 2006.

The defeat, which could be Inter coach Roberto Mancini's last in charge of the nerazzurri if Italian press reports are to be believed, denied him an incredible 11th cup success as a player and coach.

Roma were clearly the more hyped of the teams from the off as they looked to make up for last weekend's Scudetto disappointment.

Inter had the first shot on target through Serbian midfielder Dejan Stankovic but most of the action happened at the other end of the field.

French winger Ludovic Giuly was wildly off target when well placed and Perrotta had a shot blocked by Romanian centre-back Cristian Chivu.

But Roma took the lead on 35 minutes through a clever corner routine that caught Inter napping.

Chile midfielder David Pizarro crossed to the near post and Mexes timed his run perfectly before flicking the ball into the roof of the net.

At this point Inter - who were being cheered on by just a few thousand of their fans, leaving an entire end almost empty in the stadium - seemed barely interested.

And they fell two behind just after the restart as Perrotta ran at the heart of a defence that was backing off and played a one-two with Montenegro striker Mirko Vucinic before slotting into an empty goal with Inter's veteran second-choice goalkeeper Francesco Toldo drawn out of position.

Inter were furious as they thought their Brazilian midfielder Cesar had been fouled in the build up.

That finally sparked them into life and Portuguese midfielder Pele's thunderbolt got them right back in the match.

Inter almost equalised moments later but Argentine centre-back Nicolas Burdisso's header came back off the post.

Inter threw everything but the kitchen sink at Roma after that but created nothing to suggest they might score. Tellingly, though, their players hardly looked upset at the finish.

(taken from : here)

Blues begin search after firing Grant

2008-05-26T01:00:00.000+07:00

Chelsea has started its search for a new manager after sacking Avram Grant on Saturday.

Grant, who replaced Jose Mourinho last September, was expected to be removed from his post following Chelsea’s failure to win a trophy for the first time in three seasons.

The 52-year-old Israeli found it hard to come to terms with being thrust into the spotlight and although he guided Chelsea into its first Champions League final, the penalty shootout defeat to Manchester United in Moscow on Wednesday paved the way for his departure.

After two days of meetings, Chelsea confirmed its decision in a statement on the club’s official web site, www.chelseafc.com.

“Chelsea can confirm that Avram Grant has had his contract as manager terminated today,” the statement said. “This follows meetings over the last two days. Everybody at Chelsea FC would like to thank Avram for his contribution since taking over as manager last September.

“We will now be concentrating all our efforts on identifying a new manager for Chelsea and there will be no further comment until that appointment is made.”

Grant joined the club last summer from Portsmouth to take up the post of director of football. Then manager Mourinho, whose relationship with the board was already fractious, was unhappy with the appointment.

Mourinho was later dismissed after the team’s 1-1 draw with Rosenborg at Stamford Bridge in its opening Champions League game.

Grant, who had never managed a club in England, was asked to takeover and later given a four-year contract.

A close friend of the club’s billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, Grant’s brief reign was tainted by reports of anti-Semitic abuse but remarkably he equalled a nine-match winning run set by Mourinho’s side two years earlier.

Grant brought in Henk ten Cate as his assistant as well as new fitness and goalkeeping staff.

But his appointment was never really accepted by the fans, who steadfastly refused to chant his name until the final game of the season, and his sour-faced demeanor did him few favors.

He was also criticized for being tactically inept but guided the club to the final of the Carling Cup in February only to lose to Tottenham, 2-1.

But remarkably, Chelsea pushed Manchester United to the wire in the race for the Premier League title and earned a place in its first Champions League final against Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.

But Grant’s entire spell in charge was littered with speculation that he was just a stop-gap appointment and that he would leave in the summer.

Chelsea consistently denied it had plans to change its manager but the deafening silence from the club’s board after Wednesday’s loss to United, told its own story.

Both chief-executive Peter Kenyon and chairman Bruce Buck paved the way for change by insisting that Chelsea’s performance this season was simply ‘not good enough’.

“We have very high expectations at Chelsea and a couple of second-place finishes is just not good enough for us - so although we never would have thought in September when Jose Mourinho left that we would be able to make it into a Champions League Final as we did - and that is fantastic - Chelsea are here to win trophies,” Buck said. “So although it was an excellent season, we are still disappointed.”

A series of discussions finally resolved Grant’s future and it is understood the Israeli said his farewells to the players on Friday - telling them it had been a ‘privilege’ to manage the team.

(taken from : here)

English village to be invaded in spybot competition

2008-05-25T01:46:00.000+07:00

A village in south-west England will shortly be swarming with robots competing to show off their surveillance skills.

The event is the UK Ministry of Defence's (MoD) answer to the US DARPA Grand Challenge that set robotic cars against one another to encourage advances in autonomous vehicles.

The MoD Grand Challenge is instead designed to boost development of teams of small robots able to scout out hidden dangers in hostile urban areas.

Over 10 days in August, 11 teams of robots will compete to locate and identify four different threats hidden around a mock East German village used for urban warfare training, at Copehill Down, Wiltshire.

The robots must find snipers, armed vehicles, armed foot soldiers, and improvised explosive devices hidden around the village, and relay a real-time picture of what is happening back to a command post.

Urban hazards

The robots will need to negotiate the complexity of an urban environment to find the threats. Hazards include unfamiliar terrain and buildings, trees, near-invisible overhead wires and other urban clutter.

Teams will earn points based on how many threats they locate in one hour, and how autonomous they are. For example, a team will lose points if they use remote control to direct their vehicles at any stage of the trial.

The teams that score highest will be rewarded with the potential of a lucrative contract with the MoD, which hopes to see the best ideas rapidly developed to the point they can be deployed by UK forces in places such as Afghanistan and southern Iraq.

"We are in no doubt that this is a difficult challenge," says Grand Challenge programme leader, Andy Wallace.

Software control

Of the 23 initial entries from teams made up of private companies and universities, 11 were selected to take part in the final, with six thought promising enough to receive MoD funding.

One funded team, the Stellar Consortium, uses two aerial robots and one ground-based one.

A 3m wing-span unmanned air vehicle (UAV) will fly 65 metres above the village and use cameras to gather wide-area surveillance used by software to direct a smaller, 1m UAV flying at 20 metres, and an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV).

Those two vehicles use thermal, visual, and radar sensors to make more detailed observations that can be reported back to the base station.

"Physically, the vehicles all have to be launched by someone," explains Julia Richardson, Director of Stellar Research, "but after that, the mission-planning software hosted at the ground station takes full control."

Owl swarm

A team called Swarm Systems uses more robots. "We need to gather as much sensory information as possible," says team leader Stephen Crampton, "so we're using eight vehicles. And we're going by air because it gives you more viewing angles."

Dubbed "Owls", their battery-powered, Frisbee-sized vehicles weigh under a kilogram and have four small propellers. Able to hover and dart like birds, they are GPS-guided and communicate with one another, and the base station, using Wi-Fi. Each Owl carries a trio of 5 megapixel cameras.

"Without giving too much away, the processing power on board each of these vehicles is pretty impressive," adds Crampton. "They could run full-blown Windows Vista."

User-friendly tech

A third team, Silicon Valley, has opted to rely less heavily on autonomous vehicles. They have used off-the-shelf technology for the hardware as much as possible, and focused more development onto image recognition and analysis software.

"If you can automate that part, then you have a useful tool," explains team leader, Norman Gregory. "What we intend to do is deploy various platforms, depending on what the scenario is."

The team will use a mixture of ground and air-based vehicles, although the team is not yet releasing the exact details. The main ground vehicle is the size of a ride-on lawnmower and can be GPS-guided or remotely directed by a human.

(taken from : here)

'Grasshopper' robot sets high-jump record

2008-05-25T01:34:00.000+07:00

Taking its inspiration from the grasshopper, a tiny two-legged robot that stores elastic energy in springs has leaped 27 times its own height, smashing the record of 17 times set by a previous robot.

Its creators hope that swarms of such hopping robots could spread out to explore disaster areas, or even the surfaces of other planets.
The robot is only 5 centimetres tall, and weighs just 7 grams. A motor designed to power the vibration unit of a pager drives a system of gears that gradually wind two metal springs.

When they are fully wound and then released, they straighten two metal legs that propel the robot upwards. The jumping robot was developed by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Hop on over

Hopping provides an effective way for tiny robots to get around on rough terrain, says Dario Floreano, who worked on the robot with colleague Mirko Kovac.

Just as for insects like crickets, or animals such as frogs, small robots whether legged or wheeled find even small obstacles insurmountable barriers. Hopping can be the only way to get over them.

The new robot's motor takes 3.5 seconds to fully recharge the springs, and its 10 mAh battery is enough to power 108 jumps.

Each of its legs has two segments that attach at an angle, making a knee-like bend in the legs. Adjusting the angle of the "knees" makes the robot hop either more vertically, or further forward.

The prototype doesn't have any way to direct itself, and as yet can't even land on its feet ready for the next hop. Floreano says they are working on a number of refinements.

Just add wings

First, they want to build a wire superstructure to make the robot automatically regain its feet when it lands and add wings to let it glide like a real grasshopper while airborne.

After that they hope to add solar panels, some simple sensors and a microprocessor. These would allow the robot to control its hopping and possibly communicate with other robots in the swarm, as well as recharge its battery.

Such robots might be simple, but they could also be cheap. A group could coordinate themselves to spread across an area to, for example, trace an environmental pollutant, Floreano says.

"They have done excellent work, making this very light robot that can cover very long distance," says Umberto Scarfogliero, at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Lucca, Italy. Scarfogliero and colleagues presented a similar jumping robot called Grillo last year at the IEEE robotics conference.

Floreano and Kovac's robot will be presented today at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Pasadena, California, US.

(taken from : here)

We're Running Out of IP Addresses

2008-05-25T01:21:00.001+07:00

Frost & Sullivan analyst says we have until 2010 before there are no more addresses to be had.

Just what we needed, another technology limitation about to put the squeeze on everyone. And we don't mean the Unix date bug.

The growing popularity of smartphones and other gadgets with Internet connectivity is sucking up all of the available IP addresses, and it's beginning to impede emerging Internet markets around the world.

Cyberspace has about four to seven years before it runs out of IP addresses totally, according to a report by market researcher Frost & Sullivan. For some countries, the problem is now, according to Sam Masud, principal analyst for carrier infrastructure at the firm.

It's been known for years that the number of IP addresses was dwindling, but there wasn't as much specificity as to when. Now Masud is predicting 2010 will be when the world runs out, based on current rates of consumption. The U.S. won't be as impacted since so many are allocated here, but emerging markets will take the hardest hit.

China, for instance, has fewer IP addresses allocated than Stanford University. And the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has more IP addresses than all of Asia.

This wasn't done to be nasty to China, he said. It's just that when IP addresses were doled out 20 years ago, the Internet was a DoD project and Stanford was heavily involved, so they kept a lot of addresses for themselves, said Masud.

With its 32-bit size, TCP/IP has room for 4.3 billion addresses. That may seem like a lot until you realize that one-third are currently accounted for and another third of that pie is claimed but not in use.

IDC said there will be 17 billion devices connected to the Internet by 2012. And obviously they will not all be using unique IPs.

TCP/IP has already extended its lifespan by 10 years, thanks to network address translation devices and classless inter-domain routing, but it only bought time. It didn't increase the pool of addresses available.

The solution is to move to IPv6, which has 128-bit addresses, said Masud. That comes out to 360,382,386,120,984,643,363,377,707,131,268,210,929 possible addresses, in case you were keeping count.

Because Asia is a relatively green field with little legacy infrastructure, he added, they are doing just that: going straight to IPv6 and only using bridge connections to IPv4.

"I haven't seen the studies, but I've read that China and Taiwan are on track to migrate to IPv6, whereas the private sector here in the U.S. is asleep on all this," he said.

The one exception is the federal government, which has mandated that all government agency network backbones have to speak IPv6 by June 2008.

The rest are, he said, asleep at the switch.

Only 30 percent of the Internet service provider networks will support IPv6 by 2010, according to a study by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The cost to migrate: around $75 billion.

Masud said IP addresses are being consumed across the board, as much by smart devices as broadband providers that offer multiple IP addresses to their customers.

Comcast, one of the largest broadband providers in the U.S., is moving to IPv6 because it saw how fast it was consuming addresses and how few were left, he said.

The reason service providers are moving to IPv6 first is their desire to move to more IP-based networks for a variety of bandwidth-intensive applications.

British Telecom, for example, has said it wants to switch entirely to IP-based telephony by 2008. Cable providers want to offer newer interactive services and need more addresses.

That's why they are moving to IPv6 first, said Masud.

(taken from : here)

Mobile ads years away from breakthrough: execs

2008-05-24T15:53:00.000+07:00

Advertising on mobile phones has enormous potential to become a significant platform for marketers, but any breakthrough is years away and major operators must work together to succeed, executives said.

Mobile operators increasingly see advertising as a powerful offering, given falling traditional voice revenue, as it allows brands to target consumers based on their location and at times of the day when they are otherwise hard to reach.

Executives from advertising and telecoms groups told the Reuters Technology, Media and Telecoms summit mobile advertising was inevitable and would become hard to resist.

But it was still at the experimental stage, and many brands and mobile operators were wary of alienating customers.

"It will be slow, it will take time but it will be there," Maurice Levy, chairman and chief executive of advertising group Publicis, told the summit in Paris.

"Why? Because it will be in the interest of the phone companies, consumers and advertisers. So it will be very difficult to resist."

Forecasts suggest the mobile ad market will generate revenue of anywhere from $1 billion to $24 billion within the next 4 years.

Many operators are experimenting with plans and one service, Blyk, has signed 100,000 clients in the U.K. with its offer of some free calls and text messages in return for accepting ads.

"If you look at the long horizon, I think that advertising on mobile phones is going to be very, very significant, simply because there are going to be 5 billion mobile phones and they are always with you," said Hamid Akhavan, the head of Germany's T-Mobile.

"There are people on this earth who in their life will never have a TV or a laptop but they will have a mobile phone. (So) thinking logically, there is no reason why mobile phones should not be the most powerful tool for advertisers."

All participants agreed there were many stumbling blocks.

Virgin Mobile USA told the Reuters summit in New York that it would use AOL's mobile advertising system exclusively to deliver banner ads to its customers who surf the Web on their phones. But they intended to approach the offering carefully.

"A cell phone is an intimate device," Chief Executive Dan Schulman said. "We pay a service provider to have that service and we don't want to be spammed, quite frankly."

French mobile operator SFR said there would be a market for mobile advertising and it had established a team to work on a business model, but said its customers would have to opt in.

"People will have to agree to take this service," Chief Executive Frank Esser said.

T-Mobile's Akhavan saw mobile advertising being held back by the large number of different phones and their capabilities, meaning the inventory space for advertising was very fragmented.

"By the time you say how many countries you cover and what your share of the market is, how many people have that kind of phone and how many of them are interested in Nike, you end up with an inventory of 6,000," he said.

"And are you going to go to Nike and waste their time over 6,000 potential customers?"

A cooperative model was likely the only way to succeed.

"So in Europe for instance all the big names have to work together, look at the inventory and try and figure out a way for us to share it in a very cooperative way and together go and pitch. That's the only way it is going to work," he said.

Akhavan said operators were starting to discuss this but that it was not a top priority.

(taken from : here)

HP ships USB sticks with malware

2008-05-24T15:46:00.000+07:00

Hewlett-Packard has released a batch of USB keys for numerous Proliant server models which contain malware that could allow an attacker to take over an infected system.

The worms contained on the 256KB and 1GB USB drives have been identified as W32.Fakerecy and W32.SillyFDC. The worms spread by copying themselves to removable or mapped drives and affect systems running Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows XP, Windows Me, Windows NT and Windows 2000, according to AusCERT.

HP's Software Security Response Team issued a warning to AusCERT this week after discovering the worms on the USB drives and has also provided a list of affected servers to the security response organization.

To find out whether a drive is infected, HP recommends inserting it into a system with up-to-date antivirus software. Systems with up-to-date antivirus should be protected from the threat, according to HP.

John Bambenek, a researcher at the security organization Sans Internet Storm Center, has said that because the infected USBs only affect Proliant servers, a targeted attack cannot be ruled out.

However, the threat risk from the worms is considered to be low. "This is probably not going to escalate into a widepread epidemic," Nishad Herath, senior research scientist at McAfee Avert Labs, told ZDNet.com.au. "But I would most definitely urge users to perform a virus scan of any media--including any new blank drives--you receive from vendors prior to installing/using them as slip-ups like this have been known to happen in the past."

HP claims the worm-infected USBs will have only affected a small number of customers.

"HP takes all quality issues very seriously. Because the keys involved are used to install optional floppy-disk drives, this only affects the USB Floppy Drive Key kit which is a very low volume option and impacts a very small percentage of our ProLiant customer base. We've determined root cause and are fully confident that we have resolved this event. To date, no customers have reported this issue," a spokesperson for HP told ZDNet.com.au.

HP has provided an advisory page for customers with affected USB keys.

To find out whether a drive is infected, HP recommends inserting it into a system with up-to-date antivirus software. Systems with up-to-date antivirus should be protected from the threat, according to HP.

John Bambenek, a researcher at the security organization Sans Internet Storm Center, has said that because the infected USBs only affect Proliant servers, a targeted attack cannot be ruled out.

Liam Tung of ZDNet Australia reported from Sydney.

(taken from : here)

Google could pick Git to manage Android code

2008-05-24T15:33:00.000+07:00

Releasing 8.6 million lines of source code and expecting open-source programmers to join Google in its development is a technological challenge.

But when Google does make its Android mobile phone software an open-source project later this year, it looks likely it will take a page from the Linux playbook and use a tool called Git to manage that part of the work.

Linux leader Linus Torvalds originally developed the Git source-code management software in 2005. He didn't like available open-source tools for the chore, but encountered resistance in using a proprietary tool, BitMover's BitKeeper.

Torvalds liked the distributed approach enabled by BitKeeper and Git, in which individuals could maintain their own "trees," variations of a project that branch off a main trunk. Git also can be used to track and manage software patches sent "upstream" by contributors working on code branches to the programmers responsible for maintaining various open-source projects.

Google currently uses a source-code management tool called Perforce to manage Android, but the company is moving to another code repository technology in preparation for moving Android into an open-source project, said Android leader Andy Rubin.

"We need an open-source repository. Currently we're on Perforce. That has to be moved to Git," and there's an effort now to make the transition, Rubin told me in an interview about Android.

That sounded to me like Android had settled on Git, but Rubin wasn't willing to go that far. "We have no announcements at this time," he said.

Maybe we'll hear more at the Google I/O conference next week for programmers interested in Google's work. One theme of the conference is Android.

Benjamin Lynn of Google's developer programs group offered a basic guide to Git on a Google open-source blog posting this week. And Google uses Git elsewhere, for example, to help Linux kernel programmers with support for Qualcomm mobile phone processors.

Junio C. Hamano currently maintains Git.

One choice Google won't pick for source code management is the centralized Subversion software.

"Subversion we don't think is enough of a repository to handle 11 million lines of code. If this is adopted, and there are 10,000 people checking out, it'll die," Rubin said. (Android today consists of about 8 million lines of Linux code plus 11 million lines of higher-level code; of the latter, about 8.6 million will become open-source software.)

(taken from : here)

Alonso linked with £12m Juventus move

2008-05-24T15:23:00.000+07:00

Juventus director general Jean-Claude Blanc has flown to Liverpool to conclude a £12million deal for Xabi Alonso, according to reports in Italy.

Three of Italy's major sports newspapers insist Blanc held a meeting with Anfield boss Rafael Benitez on Tuesday.

High-level Liverpool sources have declined to comment on whether there has been contact between the two clubs.

Although Alonso, who is in Spain's squad for the Euro 2008 finals next month, has recently claimed he still sees his future at Anfield, a move to Italy would certainly interest him.

It is no secret that Benitez has been told he must sell as well as buy this summer as be re-builds his squad.

And Alonso found his senior appearances restricted last season following the £18.6million arrival of Javier Mascherano and with young Brazilian midfielder Lucas also making an impact.

With Benitez still trying to tie up the move of England international midfielder Gareth Barry to Anfield for £10million, the departure of Alonso would not be a surprise.

Alonso was one of Benitez's first signings when he took over as manager four years ago, arriving for £10.5million from Real Sociedad.

The 26-year-old has played 163 games for the club and scored 14 goals but featured little towards the end of the season.

He was only a late substitute in Liverpool's final home game of the season against Manchester City and then did not figure at all in the last match at Tottenham.

The Spaniard could be one of several players to leave the club this summer.

Benitez also left out Jermaine Pennant, John Arne Riise and Peter Crouch from the side at Spurs, along with Harry Kewell, who knew by then his contract would not be renewed.

Benitez has already been active in the transfer market having signed defender Philipp Degen from Borussia Dortmund yesterday.

The Liverpool manager is also believed to be chasing Ulrich Rame, Bordeaux's France international goalkeeper, and Italian left-back Andrea Dossena from Udinese.

But the possible departure of Alonso will disappoint Liverpool fans, the Basque-born star being a key player over recent seasons and scorer of one of the goals in the 2005 Champions League final win in Istanbul.

(taken from : here)

Flamini: Milan move not about the money

2008-05-24T15:19:00.000+07:00

ROME, May 21 (Reuters) - Sporting reasons, not financial ones, were behind Mathieu Flamini's end-of-season move from Arsenal to AC Milan, the French midfielder said.

'I always said Milan would have been my first choice if I left Arsenal and I didn't do it for money,' Flamini told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

'I don't say it to boast, but I had lots of offers and I chose Milan because it's every player's dream. It wasn't easy to decide to leave London but I knew what I wanted.'

The 24-year-old said he was not concerned Milan will miss the Champions League next season after finishing fifth in Serie A.

'I don't mind at all,' he said. 'Those who play in the UEFA Cup with Milan know that it's the exception of one season. Milan are the team with most (international) titles in the world.

'They are a great club with a great history, a good, amiable coach, excellent players, passionate fans. When I entered the San Siro on the night of Milan-Arsenal it made me shiver.'

He added that he is confident Serie A is on the up after the 2006 match-fixing scandal.

'Serie A is returning to the top. The problems are water under the bridge, lots of great players will come to Italy.'

The Frenchman also said he was glad to have the British tabloids off his back.

'If you say that in Italy the newspapers are not so interested in player's private lives you take a weight off my heart,' he said.

'In England, where otherwise I'm fine, paparazzi chasing players with new girls are a nightmare.'

(taken from : here)