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legalize Ganja (Marijuana) For Medical Use

2013-01-01T15:39:00.000-08:00

I am totally against smoking it has been proven that all type of smoking is bad for your health, i would go a bit futher i would loby for all smoking to be ban in public places.

Marijuana bud

I would like ganja (Marijuana) to be legalize for medical use and not for smoking, ganja is very very good for the treatment of HIV and other aids related treatment. Many research have proven that HIV patient that use ganja (Marijuana) maintain better health.

Ganja Bud

Ganja (Marijuana) seeds are very good to stabilize and normalize your cholesterol level, I know of a young lady who use to take prescribe medication for her cholesterol problems and she was still having problems. But when she started using the ganja (Marijuana) seeds her cholesterol was stabilize.

That is to show that ganja (Marijuana) is a great medicine, but it should not be used for smoking.

Usain Bolt Wins men's 100m in record time 9.63 seconds

2012-08-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

Usain Bolt has won the gold medal in the men's 100m at the London Olympic Games after winning the final in 9.63 seconds, a new Olympic record.

Bolt's Jamaican training partner and biggest rival, Yohan Blake, claimed the silver medal in 9.75 secs and former Olympic champion Justin Gatlin won the bronze in a time of 9.79.

Bolt's victory was the second-fastest 100m run in history, behind his world record time of 9.58, set in at the World Championships in Berlin in 2009.

More to follow.

Simply the best: Usain Bolt crosses the finishing line to win gold in the men's 100 metres final

Cruise control: Usain Bolt (right) wins his 100m semi-final ahead of Britain's Dwain Chambers (left)

Plenty left in the tank: Bolt crosses the finishing line in a time of 9.87 secs in the second 100m semi-final

Not quite enough: British sprinter Dwain Chambers looks in vain at the scoreboard after his race

Rising star: Gemili (centre) proved he has a bright future after just missing out on the final

Fastest of all: American Justin Gatlin (right) qualified fastest for the final in 9.82secs

Snap shots of London 2012

2012-08-05T12:26:00.004-07:00

China's Xu Chen (right), and Ma Jin play against Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, also from China, at the badminton mixed doubles final of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London yesterday. Chen and Ma lost the match 11-21, 17-21. (Photo: AP)

Spain's Onan Barreiros and Aaron Sarmiento compete during the 470 men class race in Weymouth and Portland, England, yesterday (Photo: AP)

Italy's Aldo Montano (left) fences against Russia's Alexey Yakimenko during the men's sabre bronze medal match at the ExCel arena. (Photo: AP)

Great Britain Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark compete during the 470 women class race in Weymouth and Portland, England, yesterday. (Photo: AP)

Bronze medallist China's Lu Chunlong performs on the trampoline yesterday. (Photo: AP)

Kazakhstan's Svetlana Podobedova (centre) poses on the podium with her gold medal next to Russian silver medallist Natalya Zabolotnaya (left) and bronze winnner Belarus's Iryna Kulesha at the presentation of the women's 75kg group A weightlifting event. (Photo: AFP)

Athletes compete in the men's 3000m steeplechase heats at the athletics event in the Olympic Stadaium yesterday. (Photo: AFP)

France's Marion Farissier competes in the preliminary round of the women's 3m springboard diving event at the Aquatics Centre in London. (Photo: AFP)

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (centre) jumps to feet to applaud the gold medal won by Great Britain's rowers at Eton Dorney. The Prime Minister watched the race on television with workers at Team GB house in Stratford, east London, yesterday. (Photo: AFP)

Italy's Aldo Montano (left) fences with Russia's Alexey Yakimenko during the men's sabre bronze medal match at the ExCel arena. (Photo: AFP)

Justin Reid-Ross of South Africa (centre) celebrates after scoring a goal against Spain during the men's field hockey preliminary round match at the Riverbank Arena in London. (Photo: AFP)

Bolt jogs to win 100m semis

2012-08-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Usain Bolt secured a place in this afternoon’s 100m final winning his semi final in 9.87.

Second place was Ryan Bailey of the US in 9.95 and third Richard Thompson

Rank	Lane	Athlete	Reac. T	Time
1	3	BOLT Usain	0.18	9.87
2	6	BAILEY Ryan	0.155	9.96
3	7	THOMPSON Richard	0.158	10.02
4	4	CHAMBERS Dwain	0.154	10.05
5	8	PHIRI Gerald	0.165	10.11
6	5	BAILEY Daniel	0.142	10.16
7	1	ADAMS Antoine	0.159	10.27
8	2	SU Bingtian	0.157	10.28

Blake into finals, Asafa squeezes in

2012-08-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Yohan ‘The Beast’ Blake secured his spot in 100m final clocking 9.85 running top contender Tyson Gay into second.

Rank	Lane	Athlete	Reac. T	Time
1	5	BLAKE Yohan	0.176	9.85
2	3	GAY Tyson	0.151	9.9
3	6	GEMILI Adam	0.158	10.06
4	7	ATKINS Derrick	0.164	10.08
5	8	WARNER Justyn	0.135	10.09
6	4	YAMAGATA Ryota	0.158	10.1
7	2	SORRILLO Rondel	0.14	10.31
-	1	HYMAN Kemar	-	DNS

Phelps ends career with gold in medley relay

2012-08-04T20:15:00.002-07:00

LONDON (AP) — Michael Phelps ended his career with another gold as the United States won the medley relay at the London Olympics on Saturday.

Phelps leaves the sport with a record 18 golds and 22 medals overall. At these games he won four golds and two silvers.

In the final swimming event of the eight-day meet, the Americans clocked 3 minutes, 29.35 seconds.

Matt Grevers led off in the backstroke leg, Brendan Hansen swam the breaststroke, Phelps did his usual butterfly leg and Nathan Adrian was the anchor in freestyle.

The Americans trailed when Phelps dove in, but he pushed them in front.

Japan touched in 3:31.26 to take the silver medal and Australia finished in 3:31.58 to take bronze.

Ernesto still a threat to Jamaica

2012-08-04T14:25:00.002-07:00

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The Meteorological Service has continued the Tropical Storm warning for Jamaica as Ernesto continues to move towards the west and closer to the island. This means that tropical storm conditions, including possible sustained wind speeds of 34-63 knots or 63-118 km/h, are expected for sections of the island in 36 hours or less.

At 1:00 p.m. the centre of Tropical Storm Ernesto was located near Latitude 14.5 degrees North, Longitude 69.3 degrees West; about 820 kilometres (510 miles) east-southeast of Morant Point, Jamaica or 440 kilometres (270 miles) south of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

1/1

Ernesto is now moving towards the west near 30 km/h (18 mph) and this general motion is expected to continue during the next 48 hours.

Maximum sustained winds are near 85 km/h (50 mph), with higher gusts, and no significant change in strength is expected today.

Intensification to hurricane strength is, however, possible on Sunday as the tropical storm begins to move south of Jamaica; hence, the warning for the island has been upgraded. Tropical storm force winds now extend outward up to 165 km (105 miles) mainly north and east of the centre of Ernesto.

Satellite imagery indicates that the outer rain-bands of Tropical Storm Ernesto extend over a large area north of its centre and, on the current forecast track, these could begin to influence the weather over Jamaica by Sunday morning. Periods of heavy rainfall and strong, gusty winds occasionally reaching tropical storm strength, could be experienced mainly over southern parishes on Sunday and Monday.

All small craft operators, including fishers from the cays and banks, should by now have completed all the necessary safety precautions and are advised to remain in safe harbour until all warning messages have been discontinued and wind and sea conditions have returned to normal.

Shelly-Ann successfully defends Olympic title

2012-08-04T14:24:00.002-07:00

KINGSTON, Jamaica- Defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the women's 100m finals in 10.75 seconds.

Her compatriot Veronica Campbell-Brown finished third behind American Carmelita Jeter.

Tagged Review

2012-08-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

Tagged is a social networking website originally aimed at junior high and high school students but is now open to people of all ages. Despite a convoluted design, complaints about inbox spam and excessive bot spam, Tagged's popularity has grown over the past year.

Tagged - Pros and Cons

Pros

One of the fastest-growing social networks
Customizable profiles
Users can 'tag' each other with pictures
A growing number of applications including games like Poker and Mafia Wars

Cons

Questionable behavior leads to inbox spam
Advertisements not exactly kid-friendly
Lacks enough protection against spam bots
Convoluted design

Tagged - What's To Like

Tagged is one of the fastest growing social networks, which means it will provide plenty of opportunity to create a community of friends and meet new people. With the ability to customize your profile, write on walls and tag friends with pictures, Tagged provides a fun atmosphere.
Tagged also has a growing number of applications and game like Mafia Wars, a game where you become a Mafia Don and gather together a gang of thugs.

Tagged - What's Not To Like

By far the biggest complaint about Tagged is their behavior in sending out email spam. Tagged is known for sending multiple emails to a member's address book, spamming friends and family with invites.
Tagged also has a convoluted design which can make it difficult to navigate and a confusing registration process that can end in a never-ending loop asking for personal information. The need to ask for a street address and mobile phone number is also of concern.
Tagged has been overrun with spam bots that grab user profile information and spam user walls. These spam bots can also lead to more inbox spam.
While Tagged was originally targeted at junior high and high school students, the questionable advertisements make it not exactly kid-friendly. For this reason, there are parental concerns with Tagged.

Tagged - The Bottom Line

While Tagged is quickly becoming one of the more popular social networks, it still lags behind Facebook and MySpace in design, functionality, popularity and community. Add to this the negative aspects of inbox spam, questionable advertisements and spam bots, and it is difficult to recommend Tagged over other social networks.

LED VS LCD review

2012-08-04T06:46:00.001-07:00

If you are planning to buy a new TV for your home and have got confused over the battle of LED VS LCDs, then don’t blame yourself. Due to the new marketing strategies of the television companies, both aggressive and persuasive, all people have been bamboozled when they are faced with the LED VS LCD competition. However, you will be shocked to know that there is no need to be so puzzled on the LED VS LCD matter since they don’t have that much of a difference between them in reality.

The buzz of LED VS LCD in the market is actually the brainchild of clever marketing strategies from large TV manufacturers, to promote the sale of their new LED televisions and also push the sale of LCD televisions even further. However, these LED televisions in reality, are not a new kind or new generation TV. They are almost similar to the LCD televisions where they share almost a similar screen in which we see the picture. The main difference between these two televisions is that LED televisions use LED or Light Emitting Diodes to light the screen while LCD televisions use cold-cathode fluorescent lights or mostly known as CFL lights to light the screen on it. Therefore, you can see that there might not be that much of a difference in the feature evaluation of LED VS LCD and it might also be a big waste of time thinking about the winner in an LED VS LCD encounter.
However, there are a few differences between the LED and LCD televisions which are still adding fuel to this burning clash of LED VS LCD television. Among them, the most important one is the thickness of these televisions. LEDs, since they use LED lights, can be thinner than other LCDs as well as the plasma televisions. So, this is a winning blow from the new LED televisions. In addition to that, since LED televisions use LED lights, the picture is more clear and crisp in an LED television. According to this, pure white is brighter and dark black is deeper in an LED television compared to the LCD televisions. This is not the end of LED VS LCD war. Compared to LEDs, LCD televisions are quite cheaper; at least by 100 to 200 dollars. So, people on a budget always pick the LCD from an LED VS LCD dilemma and to be honest, this is an easy decision for them considering the price. Besides that, the LCD televisions are available in almost any departmental store and are very easy to fix or replace. So LCDs have again got some advantages over the LEDs in the battle of LED VS LCD.
However, these features are not enough to make the verdict on the LED VS LCD. It is evident that in the fight of LED VS LCD, it will be very difficult to declare the universal winner that everyone will accept and it will be a waste of time arguing which is the best between these two.

Windows 7 Review

2012-08-04T06:42:00.004-07:00

What if a new version of Windows didn't try to dazzle you? What if, instead, it tried to disappear except when you needed it? Such an operating system would dispense with glitzy effects in favor of low-key, useful new features. Rather than pelting you with alerts, warnings, and requests, it would try to stay out of your face. And if any bundled applications weren't essential, it would dump 'em.
It's not a what-if scenario. Windows 7, set to arrive on new PCs and as a shrinkwrapped upgrade on October 22, has a minimalist feel and attempts to fix annoyances old and new. In contrast, Windows Vista offered a flashy new interface, but its poor performance, compatibility gotchas, and lack of compelling features made some folks regret upgrading and others refuse to leave Windows XP.
Windows 7 is hardly flawless. Some features feel unfinished; others won't realize their potential without heavy lifting by third parties. And some long-standing annoyances remain intact. But overall, the final shipping version I test-drove appears to be the worthy successor to Windows XP that Vista never was.
Microsoft's release of Windows 7 also roughly coincides with Apple's release of its new Snow Leopard; for a visual comparison of the two operating systems, see our slideshow "Snow Leopard Versus Windows 7." Of course, an OS can't be a winner if it turns a zippy PC into a slowpoke or causes installation nightmares. Consult "Windows 7 Performance Tests" for Windows 7 performance test results, and "How to Upgrade to Windows 7" for hands-on advice on the best way to install it. Read on here for an in-depth look at how Microsoft has changed its OS--mostly for the better--in Windows 7.

Interface: The New Taskmaster

The Windows experience occurs mainly in its Taskbar--especially in the Start menu and System Tray. Vista gave the Start menu a welcome redesign; in Windows 7, the Taskbar and the System Tray get a thorough makeover.
Windows 7's revamped Taskbar introduces several new features and gives users much more control over how it looks.The new Taskbar replaces the old small icons and text labels for running apps with larger, unlabeled icons. If you can keep the icons straight, the new design painlessly reduces Taskbar clutter. If you don't like it, you can shrink the icons and/or bring the labels back.
In the past, you could get one-click access to programs by dragging their icons to the Quick Launch toolbar. Windows 7 eliminates Quick Launch and folds its capabilities into the Taskbar. Drag an app's icon from the Start menu or desktop to the Taskbar, and Windows will pin it there, so you can launch the program without rummaging around in the Start menu. You can also organize icons in the Taskbar by moving them to new positions.
To indicate that a particular application on the Taskbar is running, Windows draws a subtle box around its icon--so subtle, in fact, that figuring out whether the app is running can take a moment, especially if its icon sits between two icons for running apps.
In Windows Vista, hovering the mouse pointer over an application's Taskbar icon produces a thumbnail window view known as a Live Preview. But when you have multiple windows open, you see only one preview at a time. Windows 7's version of this feature is slicker and more efficient: Hover the pointer on an icon, and thumbnails of the app's windows glide into position above the Taskbar, so you can quickly find the one you're looking for. (The process would be even simpler if the thumbnails were larger and easier to decipher.)
Also new in Windows 7's Taskbar is a feature called Jump Lists. These menus resemble the context-sensitive ones you get when you right-click within various Windows applications, except that you don't have to be inside an app to use them. Internet Explorer 8's Jump List, for example, lets you open the browser and load a fresh tab, initiate an InPrivate stealth browsing session, or go directly to any of eight frequently visited Web pages. Non-Microsoft apps can offer Jump Lists, too, if their developers follow the guidelines for creating them.
Other Windows 7 interface adjustments are minor, yet so sensible that you may wonder why Windows didn't include them all along. Shove a window into the left or right edge of the screen and it'll expand to fill half of your desktop. Nudge another into the opposite edge of the screen, and it'll expand to occupy the other half. That makes comparing two windows' contents easy. If you nudge a window into the top of the screen, it will maximize to occupy all of the display's real estate.
The extreme right edge of the Taskbar now sports a sort of nub; hover over it, and open windows become transparent, revealing the desktop below. (Microsoft calls this feature Aero Peek.) Click the nub, and the windows scoot out of the way, giving you access to documents or apps that reside on the desktop and duplicating the Show Desktop feature that Quick Launch used to offer.
Getting at your desktop may soon become even more important than it was in the past. That's because Windows 7 does away with the Sidebar, the portion of screen space that Windows Vista reserved for Gadgets such as a photo viewer and a weather applet. Instead of occupying the Sidebar, Gadgets now sit directly on the desktop, where they don't compete with other apps for precious screen real estate.
Old Tray, New Tricks: Windows 7's Taskbar and window management tweaks are nice. But its changes to the System Tray--aka the Notification Area--have a huge positive effect.
Changes in Windows 7 transform the System Tray from an intrusive eyesore (in Windows Vista) into a useful set of shortcuts and other controls.In the past, no feature of Windows packed more frustration per square inch than the System Tray. It quickly grew dense with applets that users did not want in the first place, and many of the uninvited guests employed word balloons and other intrusive methods to alert users to uninteresting facts at inopportune moments. At their worst, System Tray applets behaved like belligerent squatters, and Windows did little to put users back in charge.
In Windows 7, applets can't pester you unbidden because software installers can't dump them into the System Tray. Instead, applets land in a holding pen that appears only when you click it, a much-improved version of the overflow area used in previous incarnations of the Tray. Applets in the pen can't float word balloons at you unless you permit them to do so. It's a cinch to drag them into the System Tray or out of it again, so you enjoy complete control over which applets reside there.
More good news: Windows 7 largely dispenses with the onslaught of word-balloon warnings from the OS about troubleshooting issues, potential security problems, and the like. A new area called Action Center--a revamped version of Vista's Security Center--queues up such alerts so you can deal with them at your convenience. Action Center does issue notifications of its own from the System Tray, but you can shut these off if you don't want them pestering you.
All of this helps make Windows 7 the least distracting, least intrusive Microsoft OS in a very long time. It's a giant step forward from the days when Windows thought nothing of interrupting your work to inform you that it had detected unused icons on your desktop.

File Management: The Library System

Compared to the Taskbar and the System Tray, Explorer hasn't changed much in Windows 7. However, its left pane does sport two new ways to get at your files: Libraries and HomeGroups.
Libraries could just as appropriately have been called File Cabinets, since they let you collect related folders in one place. By default, you get Libraries labeled Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos, each of which initially directs you to the OS's standard folders for storing the named items--such as My Pictures and Public Pictures.
To benefit from Libraries, you have to customize them. Right-click any folder on your hard drive, and you can add it to any Library; for instance, you can transform the Pictures Library into a collection of all your folders that contain photos. You can create additional Libraries of your own from scratch, such as one that bundles up all folders that relate to your vacation plans.
Libraries would be even more useful if Microsoft had integrated them with Saved Searches, the Windows feature (introduced in Vista) that lets you create virtual folders based on searches, such as one that tracks down every .jpg image file on your system. But while Windows 7 lets you add standard folders to a Library, it doesn't support Saved Searches.
HomeGroups, Swee HomeGroups? Closely related to Libraries are HomeGroups, a new feature designed to simplify the notoriously tricky process of networking Windows PCs. Machines that are part of one HomeGroup can selectively grant each other read or read/write access to their Libraries and to the folders they contain, so you can perform such mundane but important tasks as providing your spouse with access to a folderful of tax documents on your computer. HomeGroups can also stream media, enabling you to pipe music or a movie off the desktop in the den onto your notebook in the living room. And they let you share a printer connected to one PC with all the other computers in the HomeGroup, a useful feature if you can't connect the printer directly to the network.
HomeGroups aren't a bad idea, but Windows 7's implementation seems half-baked. HomeGroups are password-protected, but rather than inviting you to specify a password of your choice during initial setup, Windows assigns you one consisting of ten characters of alphanumeric gibberish and instructs you to write it down so you won't forget it. To be fair, passwords made up of random characters provide excellent security, and the only time you need the password is when you first connect a new PC to a HomeGroup. But it's still a tad peculiar that you can't specify a password you'll remember during setup--you can do that only after the fact, in a different part of the OS. More annoying and limiting: HomeGroups won't work unless all of the PCs in question are running Windows 7, a scenario that won't be typical anytime soon. A version that also worked on XP, Vista, and Mac systems would have been cooler.
Federated Search, a new Windows Explorer feature, feels incomplete, too. It uses the OpenSearch standard to give Win 7's search "connectors" for external sources. That capability allows you to search sites such as Flickr and YouTube from within Explorer. Pretty neat--except that Windows 7 doesn't come with any of the connectors you'd need to add these sources, nor with any way of finding them. (They are available on the Web, though. Use a search engine to track them down.)

Security: UAC Gets Tolerable

Speaking of annoying Windows features, let's talk about User Account Control--the Windows Vista security element that was a poster child for everything that rankled people about that OS. UAC aimed to prevent rogue software from tampering with your PC by endlessly prompting you to approve running applications or changing settings. The experience was so grating that many users preferred to turn UAC off and take their chances with Internet attackers. Those who left it active risked slipping into the habit of incautiously clicking through every prompt, defeating whatever value the feature might have had.
Whereas Vista's notorious User Account Control gave users no control over the feature other than to turn it off, Windows 7's version of UAC lets users choose from two intermediate notification levels between 'Always notify' and 'Never notify'.Windows 7 gives you control over UAC, in the form of a slider containing four security settings. As before, you can accept the full-blown UAC or elect to disable it. But you can also tell UAC to notify you only when software changes Windows settings, not when you're tweaking them yourself. And you can instruct it not to perform the abrupt screen-dimming effect that Vista's version uses to grab your attention.
If Microsoft had its druthers, all Windows 7 users would use UAC in full-tilt mode: The slider that you use to ratchet back its severity advises you not to do so if you routinely install new software or visit unfamiliar sites, and it warns that disabling the dimming effect is "Not recommended." Speak for yourself, Redmond: I have every intention of recommending the intermediate settings to most people who ask me for advice, since those settings retain most of UAC's theoretical value without driving users bonkers.
Other than salvaging UAC, Microsoft has made relatively few significant changes to Windows 7's security system. One meaningful improvement: BitLocker, the drive-encryption tool included only in Windows 7 Ultimate and the corporate-oriented Windows 7 Enterprise, lets you encrypt USB drives and hard disks, courtesy of a feature called BitLocker to Go. It's one of the few good reasons to prefer Win 7 Ultimate to Home Premium or Professional.
Internet Explorer 8, Windows 7's default browser, includes many security-related enhancements, including a new SmartScreen Filter (which blocks dangerous Web sites) and InPrivate Browsing (which permits you to use IE without leaving traces of where you've been or what you've done). Of course, IE 8 is equally at home in XP and Vista--and it's free--so it doesn't constitute a reason to upgrade to Windows 7.

Applications: The Fewer the Merrier

Here's a startling indication of how different an upgrade Windows 7 is: Rather than larding it up with new applications, Microsoft eliminated three nonessential programs: Windows Mail (née Outlook Express), Windows Movie Maker (which premiered in Windows Me), and Windows Photo Gallery.
Users who don't want to give them up can find all three at live.windows.com as free Windows Live Essentials downloads. They may even come with your new PC, courtesy of deals Microsoft is striking with PC manufacturers. But since they are no longer tied to the leisurely release schedules of Windows, they are far less likely than most bundled Windows apps to remain mired indefinitely in an underachieving state.
Still present--and nicely spruced up--are the operating system's two applications for consuming audio and video, Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center. Windows Media Player 12 has a revised interface that divides operations into a Library view for media management and a Now Playing view for listening and watching stuff. Minimize the player into the Taskbar, and you get miniplayer controls and a Jump List, both of which let you control background music without having to leave the app you're in. Microsoft has added support for several media types that Media Player 11 didn't support, including AAC audio and H.264 video--the formats it needs to play unprotected music and movies from Apple's iTunes Store.
Media Center--not part of the bargain-basement Windows 7 Starter Edition--remains most useful if you have a PC configured with a TV tuner card and you use your computer to record TV shows à la TiVo. Among its enhancements are a better program guide and support for more tuners.
The Backup and Restore Center in Windows 7 gives users greater specificity in selecting files to back up than Vista did, but most versions of Win 7 can't back up to a network drive.Windows Vista's oddly underpowered Backup and Restore Center let users specify particular types of files to back up (such as ‘Music' and ‘Documents') but not specific files or folders. Though Microsoft corrects that deficiency in Windows 7, it deprives Windows 7 Starter Edition and Home Premium of the ability to back up to a network drive. That feels chintzy, like a car company cutting back on an economy sedan's airbags. It also continues the company's long streak of issuing versions of Windows that lack a truly satisfying backup utility.
The new version of Paint has Office 2007's Ribbon toolbar and adds various prefabricated geometric shapes and a few natural-media tools, such as a watercolor brush. But my regimen for preparing a new Windows PC for use will still include installing the impressive free image editor Paint.Net.
The nearest thing Windows 7 has to a major new application has the intriguing moniker Windows XP Mode. It's not a way to make Windows 7 look like XP--you can do that with the Windows Classic theme--but rather a way to let it run XP programs that are otherwise incompatible with Win 7. Unfortunately, only Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate offer it, and even then it comes as an optional 350MB download that requires you to have Microsoft's free Virtual PC software installed and that only works on PCs with Intel or AMD virtualization technology enabled in the BIOS.
Once active, XP Mode lets Windows 7 run apps that supposedly aren't compatible by launching them in separate windows that contain a virtualized version of XP. Microsoft clearly means for the mode to serve as a security blanket for business types who rely on ancient, often proprietary programs that may never be rewritten for current OSs.

Device Management: Setting the Stage

Windows 7 offers you numerous ways to connect your PC to everything from tiny flash drives to hulking networked laser printers--USB, Wi-Fi, ethernet, slots, and more. Devices and Printers, a new section of the Control Panel, represents connected gadgets with the largest icons I've ever seen in an operating system. (When possible, they're 3D renderings of the device; the one for Sansa's Clip MP3 player is almost life-size.)
More important, the OS introduces Device Stages--hardware-wrangling dashboards tailored to specific items of hardware, and designed by their manufacturers in collaboration with Microsoft. A Device Stage for a digital camera, for instance, may include a battery gauge, a shortcut to Windows' image-downloading tools, and links to online resources such as manuals, support sites, and the manufacturer's accessory store.
You don't need to rummage through the Control Panel or through Devices and Printers to use a Device Stage--that feature's functionality is integrated into Windows 7's new Taskbar. Plug in a device, and it will show up as a Taskbar icon; right-click that icon, and the Device Stage's content will at once appear as a Jump List-like menu.
Unfortunately, Device Stages were the one major part of Windows 7 that didn't work during my hands-on time with the final version of the OS. Earlier prerelease versions of Win 7 contained a handful of Device Stages, but Microsoft disabled them so that hardware manufacturers could finish up final ones before the OS hit store shelves in October. The feature will be a welcome improvement if device manufacturers hop on the bandwagon--and a major disappointment if they don't.
Even if Device Stages take off, most of their benefit may come as you invest in new gizmos--Microsoft says that it's encouraging manufacturers to create Device Stages for upcoming products, not existing ones. At least some older products should get Device Stages, though: Canon, for instance, told me that it's planning to build them for most of its printers. And Microsoft says that when no full-fledged Device Stage is available for a particular item, Windows 7 will still try to give you a more generic and basic one.

Input: Reach Out and Touch Windows 7

Microsoft’s Collage tool shows off the power of touch-based input to good effect.The biggest user interface trend since Windows Vista shipped in January 2007 is touchscreen input; Windows 7 is the first version of the OS to offer built-in multitouch support (see "Windows 7 Hardware: Touch Finally Arrives").
Windows 7's new touch features are subtle on a touch-capable PC and invisible otherwise. Swipe your finger up or down to scroll through document files and Web pages; sweep two fingers back and forth to zoom in and out. Dragging up on icons in the Taskbar reveals Win 7's new Jump Lists. The Taskbar button that reveals the Windows desktop is a bit bigger on touch PCs for easier use.
I installed the final version of Windows 7 and beta touchscreen drivers on an HP TouchSmart all-in-one PC. The touch features worked as advertised. But applications written with touch as the primary interface will determine whether touch becomes useful and ubiquitous. Until they arrive, Windows will continue to feel like an OS built chiefly for use with a keyboard and mouse--which it is.
You might have expected Microsoft to reinvent familiar tools such as Paint and Media Player for touch input. But the closest it comes to that is with the Windows 7 Touch Pack, a set of six touch-based programs, including a version of Virtual Earth that you can explore with your finger, and an app that lets you assemble photo collages. The Touch Pack isn't part of Windows 7, but it will ship with some Win 7 PCs, and it's a blast to play with.
Still, ultimately, the Pack is just a sexy demo of the interface's potential, not an argument for buying a touch computer today. Third-party software developers won't start writing touch-centric apps in force until a critical mass of PCs can run them. That should happen in the months following Windows 7's release, as finger-ready machines from Asus, Lenovo, Sony, and other manufacturers join those from HP and Dell. And even then, touch input may not become commonplace on Windows 7 PCs. But if a killer touch app is out there waiting to be written, we may know soon enough.

Bottom Line: Is Windows 7 Worth It?

Reading about a new operating system can tell you only so much about it: After all, Windows Vista had far more features than XP, yet fell far short of it in the eyes of many users. To judge an OS accurately, you have to live with it.
Over the past ten months, I've spent a substantial percentage of my computing life in Windows 7, starting with a preliminary version and culminating in recent weeks with the final Release to Manufacturing edition. I've run it on systems ranging from an underpowered Asus EeePC 1000HE netbook to a potent HP TouchSmart all-in-one. And I've used it to do real work, not lab routines.
Usually, I've run the OS in multiboot configurations with Windows Vista and/or XP, so I've had a choice each time I turned the computer on: Should I opt for Windows 7 or an older version of the OS? The call has been easy to make, because Win 7 is so pleasant to use.
So why wouldn't you want to run this operating system? Concern over its performance is one logical reason, especially since early versions of Windows Vista managed to turn PCs that ran XP with ease into lethargic underperformers. The PC World Test Center's speed benchmarks on five test PCs showed Windows 7 to be faster than Vista, but only by a little; I've found it to be reasonably quick on every computer I've used it on--even the Asus netbook, once I upgraded it to 2GB of RAM. (Our lab tried Win 7 on a Lenovo S10 netbook with 1GB of RAM and found it to be a shade slower than XP; for details see "Windows 7 Performance Tests.")
Here's a rule of thumb that errs on the side of caution: If your PC's specs qualify it to run Vista, get Windows 7; if they aren't, avoid it. Microsoft's official hardware configuration requirements for Windows 7 are nearly identical to those it recommends for Windows Vista: a 1-GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of free disk space, and a DirectX 9-compatible graphics device with a WDDM 1.0 or higher driver. That's for the 32-bit version of Windows 7; the 64-bit version of the OS requires a 64-bit CPU, 2GB of RAM, and 20GB of disk space.
Fear of incompatible hardware and software is another understandable reason to be wary of Windows 7. One unfortunate law of operating-system upgrades--which applies equally to Macs and to Windows PCs--is that they will break some systems and applications, especially at first.
Under the hood, Windows 7 isn't radically different from Vista. That's a plus, since it should greatly reduce the volume of difficulties relating to drivers and apps compared to Vista's bumpy rollout. I have performed a half-dozen Windows 7 upgrades, and most of them went off without a hitch. The gnarliest problem arose when I had to track down a graphics driver for Dell's XPS M1330 laptop on my own--Windows 7 installed a generic VGA driver that couldn't run the Aero user interface, and as a result failed to support new Windows 7 features such as thumbnail views in the Taskbar.
The best way to reduce your odds of running into a showstopping problem with Windows 7 is to bide your time. When the new operating system arrives on October 22, sit back and let the earliest adopters discover the worst snafus. Within a few weeks, Microsoft and other software and hardware companies will have fixed most of them, and your chances of a happy migration to Win 7 will be much higher. If you want to be really conservative, hold off on moving to Win 7 until you're ready to buy a PC that's designed to run it well.
Waiting a bit before making the leap makes sense; waiting forever does not. Microsoft took far too long to come up with a satisfactory replacement for Windows XP. But whether you choose to install Windows 7 on your current systems or get it on the next new PC you buy, you'll find that it's the unassuming, thoroughly practical upgrade you've been waiting for--flaws and all.
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Another good day at the office — Gatlin

2012-08-04T06:35:00.000-07:00

LONDON, England — Former Olympic champion Justin Gatlin of the USA was full of praise for the track inside the Olympic stadium after clocking 9.97 seconds in round one of the men's 100m at the Olympic Stadium this morning.

"It was good, the track was super-fast and it was another good day at the office. I worked on my technique. I just wanted to out there and give the spectators a good show. You feel the magic out there," Gatlin said.

Bolt fit and ready, Asafa taking it easy

2012-08-04T06:33:00.000-07:00

JAMAICA"S male sprinters Asafa Powell and defending Olympic champion Usain Bolt say they are ready to compete in tomorrow's semi-finals of the blue riband 100 metres event.

"I expected it, I'm running well, I'm happy, training is great. reaction was good," Bolt said, "I'm looking forward to the semi-finals tomorrow."

Bolt stumbled a bit at the start of his heat but didn't pay too much attention to the slight hiccup.

"I made a bad step. I stumbled a bit. I'm glad it happened now," he said.

Powell quashed any doubts about his preparedness for the men's 100m at the London Olympics.

The former world record-holder said his race was "good"; and that he "just wanted to get the cobwebs out. I took it easy today."

The sprinter also said he was not worried about almost running out of his lane saying "It's the 100m, it's a straight race and we can drift a bit.

Douglas wins all-around title, 2nd Olympic gold

2012-08-02T19:02:00.003-07:00

LONDON, England (AP) — Make it a pair of Olympic gymnastics gold medals for Gabby Douglas, who added the all-around title today to the one she won with the US team two nights ago at the London Games.

Douglas became the third straight American to win gymnastics’ biggest prize, taking the lead on the first event today and never really letting anyone else get close. She finished with a score of 62.232, less than three-tenths ahead of Viktoria Komova of Russia.

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Aliya Mustafina won the bronze.

Douglas brought the house down with her energetic floor routine, and US teammates Jordyn Wieber, McKayla Maroney and Kyla Ross jumped to their feet and cheered when she finished. Douglas flashed a smile and coach Liang Chow lifted her off the podium.

Komova’s floor routine was impressive, as well, and she stood at the center of the arena staring intently at the scoreboard, her folded hands at her mouth.

When the final standings flashed, her head dropped and she hurried to the sidelines, tears falling.

Douglas finished with a score of 62.232, about three-tenths ahead of the Russian.

Late Cuban dissident's family doubts crash report

2012-08-02T05:28:00.000-07:00

HAVANA, Cuba (AP) — The family of late Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya cast doubt on the official explanation of the car crash that killed him and another government opponent, asking the international community yesterday for help getting an independent investigation.

Speaking to foreign journalists at the family home in Havana, Paya's widow said she can't trust the same authorities who have long monitored, intimidated and harassed her family and other dissidents.

Oswaldo Paya

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"We do not accept the explanation of what happened that was aired on television," Ofelia Acevedo said.

She spoke a day after Cuban authorities, who call the small opposition "counterrevolutionaries" and "mercenaries" paid by the US government and anti-Castro Cuban exiles, announced that a Spanish man was being charged with vehicular manslaughter in connection with the crash.

His testimony and that of the crash's other survivor should lay to rest any theories about foul play, Communist Party newspaper Granma said in an editorial.

But Paya's daughter Rosa Maria said family friends who were at the hospital after the July 22 crash in eastern Cuba overheard a police captain telling fellow officers that a red car was at the scene of the crash and its occupants supposedly made the emergency call.

According to those accounts, the captain also said that Angel Carromero, the Spaniard who was driving the vehicle carrying Paya, emerged from their rental car yelling at the red vehicle: "Why are you doing this to us?"

Rosa Maria Paya questioned what Carromero would have been referring to, why there was no mention of a red car in the official report and why a coroner was purportedly in the ambulance when it first responded.

Rumors of a second vehicle's alleged involvement in the crash swirled among dissidents and some foreign media soon after the crash, with some suggesting the rental vehicle carrying Paya was being followed or even forced off the road.

Cuban authorities have insisted all along that it was a single-car incident, and some dissidents discount "conspiracy theories" while saying the investigation has not been entirely transparent.

On Monday, authorities released videotaped testimony from Carromero saying no other vehicle was involved, and the crash happened when he lost control after braking suddenly in an unpaved stretch of roadwork. Carromero faces one to 10 years in prison if convicted, though prosecutors have not specified what sentence they will seek.

Jens Aron Modig, a Swedish citizen riding in the passenger's seat, also said there was no second vehicle, though he was dozing off at the time.

Acevedo said she has not been able to talk independently to the two Europeans, who were the only survivors. Carromero is in police custody, and Modig returned to Sweden on Tuesday.

"I am not going to accuse anyone, nor am I looking for guilty parties," Acevedo said. "I simply want the facts to be cleared up."

Carromero and Modig, both members of conservative political parties in their home countries, said they came to Cuba to help the dissidents organize youth movements and lend other support.

They said they brought US$4,900 for Paya's organisation, though Acevedo said Paya never got any money from the Europeans.

Cuban state media published a lengthy editorial Tuesday complaining about a series of foreign-funded attempts to undermine the government, including new revelations about eight Mexican youth allegedly trying to incite protests during Pope Benedict XVI's visit in March, at the behest of a Cuban exile group.

Tuesday's editorial in Granma also excoriated the "fistful of slanderers" who called for a transparent investigation of the crash that killed Paya.

Acevedo alleged a pattern of intimidation and threats against the family, saying the lug nuts on their car have repeatedly and mysteriously come loose, and that an old classic car rammed their Volkswagen minibus in June.

Gay says it's time Americans topple J’can sprinters

2012-08-02T05:17:00.002-07:00

LONDON, England (AFP) — Top US sprinter Tyson Gay said yesterday that winning an elusive, first Olympic medal was the missing piece of his heart.

Gay saw his Olympic dream shattered in 2008 by a hamstring injury and now the former World champion comes to the London Games after needing nearly a year to recover from right hip surgery.

US athlete Tyson Gay holds up a pair of running shoes during a press conference near Olympic Park in east London yesterday. (Photo: AFP)

"It's a lot of pressure, I'm not going to lie. The missing piece in my heart is an Olympic medal," said Gay, who will turn 30 four days after the 100m final on Sunday.

"It's really special to come here and compete for a medal. I came up short in 2008.

"Now I'm fully focused on these Games, and not my age or 2016, to leave with a medal."

But Gay acknowledged that he would be up against it in the blue ribbon event of track and field, and arguably the whole Olympics.

Rivals include the formidable Jamaican trio of defending champion and world record holder Usain Bolt, world champion Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell, as well as US teammate Justin Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic gold medallist.

"I know what those guys bring to the table and they know what I bring to the table," Gay said.

"Regardless of any radar, we're going to have eight finalists most of whom are capable of getting a medal."

Gay said he had nothing to hide, as shown by a rare open training session at the US camp in Birmingham, central England, last week.

"It is what it is. We're going to run this weekend, and that's it. I have nothing to hide."

Gay, who said his confidence was good and was undergoing "consistent treatment" on his hip and legs, also expected a fast time, but was quick to play down suggestions that Bolt seemed off the boil.

"I definitely think that's possible, if the weather holds and everyone's fit," he said of a fast time.

"I don't want to say Bolt's vulnerable because he's definitely proved that he can run 9.5, 9.6, 9.7sec.

"He's the only guy who has been where we others haven't.

"He has to be one of the favourites because he knows what to do to win competitions.

"My only hope is that my body's ready to go there (fast times) as well."

Turning to Blake, Gay said: "I remember running against Blake in London several years ago when he was just out of high school. He's definitely matured into a great young man running a professional sport."

Gay said he was not overly concerned with the prospect of having to race three rounds before even dreaming of the final, despite only having made his competitive comeback after 50 weeks on the sidelines in June.

"I'm not worried about it too much. I'll focus on executing my programme and I think I'll be okay," he said, warning that it was time the Americans regained sprint supremacy from the Jamaicans.

"It's very important for the US to try to get back on top in the sprints," he said.

Bolt humbled by superstar treatment

2012-08-01T04:06:00.005-07:00

LONDON, England — Double world record holder Usain Bolt, arguably the most popular athlete taking part in the Games of the XXX Olympiad here in London, has admitted his global recognition and fame has humbled him.

Bolt is one of the most recognisable faces anywhere in the world and his images are plastered over huge advertising billboards and in advertising campaigns all over the world, from Kingston to London to New York to Brasil.

BOLT… was surprised at the treatment, reserved for other superstars, being given to him

He has taken photographs with world leaders, politicians, top sports personalities, models, and entertainment personalities and had to be 'rescued' by teammates after being mobbed for autographs and photos at last Friday's Opening Ceremony at Olympic Park.

In a Jamaica Olympic Association/PUMA Press Conference held in east London last week, Bolt said he was surprised at the treatment, reserved for "other superstars", being given to him.

"I get surprised every day," he said at the press conference. "Every time I walk on the street people always recognise me; I can't walk on the streets anymore. I can't go through airports as easy anymore, and to be treated like this is really humbling," he said.

Michael Phelps sets all-time Olympic record with 19th medal

2012-07-31T14:20:00.001-07:00

LONDON – In the final 10 meters of his history-making race, Michael Phelps was alone in the open – a fitting margin for an Olympic icon who is now the most decorated medal-winner of all time.

Swimming the anchor leg of the men’s 200-freestyle relay, Phelps held onto a significant lead and delivered the United States another gold medal – the 15th of his career and the 19th time he has stood on an Olympic podium. He’s now alone in the overall medal count, having broken a tie with Russian gymnast Larissa Latynina as the most-decorated athlete in the history of the Games.

[Photos: Michael Phelps]

Phelps entered the night with 17 medals, wining silver in the 200-meter butterfly and then gold in the 4x200, swimming the two races a little over one hour apart.

Just before the 4x200 began, Phelps pulled his teammates into a huddle and expressed his gratitude for their part in the moment. He delivered one last request.

"I wanted a big lead," Phelps said. "I told the guys, 'Get me a big lead.' And they gave it to me."

The crowd in London’s Aquatics Centre thundered in applause for much of the race as the United States’ Ryan Lochte – one of Phelps chief rivals in the last four years – got the Americans off to a blazing start. It was a change of sorts for Lochte, who anchored the 4x100 silver medal effort – in which the U.S. was overtaken by the French in the closing moments. This time, U.S. men’s coach Gregg Troy put Lochte in the lead-off leg, offering him an opportunity to get Phelps the lead he desired.

He did just that, swimming the fastest lead-off leg and outpacing the French by 1.55 seconds over the first 200 meters.

"The past two days I wasn’t myself," Lochte said of his sprint struggles in these Games. "After [the 400 freestyle silver medal] my confidence was gone. Everyone kept telling me, 'You’re better than that.' I didn’t swim this morning and I think that helped. I was back to myself. I was that happy-go-lucky guy."

Shortly before Tuesday night's swim meet, Latynina told Yahoo! Sports' Martin Rogers that the medals she also won as a coach still separate her from Phelps.

"Do I think I am still the greatest Olympian?" she said in an interview translated by a Russian gymnastics federation official. "Why yes, but that is my opinion.

"Why do I think this? Well, I did not only compete in three Olympic Games and won many medals, but the Soviet Union team had very great success when I was the coach."

Latynina won nine golds and 18 total medals in her career that spanned three Olympics from 1956-64. The Soviet Union also claimed another 10 golds when she was coach during the 1970s. She also said Phelps has her respect.

"It is special what he has done," Latynina said.

In a tribute to Phelps and recognizing the speed he showed in the 4x100 relay earlier in the games, U.S. coaches shuffled their 4x200 order, placing Phelps in the closing leg. While some may argue it as grandstanding by the U.S., Phelps’s blazing 47.15-second split in the 4x100 relay actually made him an ideal anchor candidate. This despite Phelps' long-standing history as a leadoff man in U.S. relays. It was also clearly a nod of respect from the U.S. coaches for a career that has rewritten American and Olympic record books while lifting U.S. swimming to unprecedented heights.

The relay unfolded as dramatically as you would expect, with Lochte, Conor Dwyer and Ricky Berens giving Phelps the sizable lead he wanted. Phelps went into the pool and was never challenged, stretching the lead in the first 150 meters and then going into the wall nearly 10 meters ahead of the French.

Phelps moved into position for the history-making moment earlier Tuesday night with his second-place finish in the 200-meter butterfly, giving him 18 Olympic podiums. He looked poised to take gold in the race, charging out early and leading after all three of the turns, before appearing to labor in the final 25 meters. That allowed South Africa’s Chad le Clos to close the gap, with the two going stroke-for-stoke in the last 10 meters. Le Clos stretched at the end, out-touching Phelps for gold, in 1:52.96 against Phelps’s 1:53.01. Phelps looked at the video board and said some words to himself, appearing disappointed with what was ultimately a wrist-length from gold.

Phelps had reason to smile less than an hour later.

Dana Vollmer’s cap fell off during her gold medal swim

2012-07-30T04:55:00.001-07:00

As if Dana Vollmer's 100 butterfly gold medal and world record weren't impressive enough, the 24-year-old American did all of that after one of her swim caps fell off during the race.

Vollmer told NBC after the race that her outer cap popped off during the race. It was later seen floating near the bottom of the pool next to a mobile tracking video.

Olympic swimmers often wear two caps during races. The first is used to cover their hair. The second conceals the goggles strap and smooths any cranial bumpiness. If the outer cap falls off there is the potential the goggles could slip, and without that second cap there is more drag in the water because the first one could wrinkle up. This all could add up to a loss of valuable split seconds in a world-class race.

"The top cap came off," Vollmer told Andrea Kremer after winning her first individual gold medal. "I have never had that happen before. I thought about it, and maybe it kept my mind off my legs hurting or something. I don't know."

The scene brought back memories of Michael Phelps' goggles filling up with water during his 200-meter butterfly victory at the Beijing Olympics. The goggles slipped during Phelps' start and immediately charged with water. As a result, Phelps couldn't see and was forced to count his strokes on each lap so he'd be able to find the wall.

Bolt being mobbed; Four teammates acting as bodyguards

2012-07-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

LONDON, England — Global sprinting star Usain Bolt is now being protected by four teammates on the Jamaican track and field squad at the Olympic Games here as he is being mobbed by athletes from other countries.

Such is Bolt's popularity that ever since arriving in the Athletes' Village on Thursday, the double world record holder in the 100m and 200m events has had difficulty moving about in public.

LONDON, England — Athletes from other countries crowd around Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt trying to get his autograph and photos with him during the Olympics opening ceremony Friday night in London. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)

However, according to team manager Ludlow 'Luddy' Watts, who described Bolt as "the star of the entire Games", there are no immediate plans to move Bolt to a more private area.

"No, he is safe here and he does not mind, so we have no plans to move him," Watts told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

The four teammates — discus thrower Jason Morgan, shot putter Dorian Scott, 400m hurdler Leford Green and decathlete Maurice Smith — have had to be performing bodyguard duties for Bolt, and according to Morgan, the de facto security chief, "The (team) management says they are happy to have us here."

Bolt was seen on television monitors taking photographs with fellow Olympians and signing autographs on the infield during the parade of teams at the Opening Ceremony.

The Sunday Observer later learnt that he had to be escorted by his teammates through a throng of athletes to get back to the Athletes' Village at the end of the ceremony on Friday night.

Watts said athletes from the team directly in front and behind the Jamaican delegation in the parade — Italy and Japan, respectively — started asking for photo ops and autographs almost as soon as they got off the track. He added that security personnel and volunteers were also a part of the frenzy.

Bolt was not the only big-name athlete in the ceremony as the American basketball team with superstars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James as well as several high-profile tennis players and swimmers were also there.

Watts told the Sunday Observer that when the Jamaican team was about to leave the village for the main stadium, which is in walking distance, a number of athletes descended on Bolt, "as if they were waiting for him to come out".

Bolt, who trained in seclusion in Birmingham before coming to London on Thursday with his track and field team members, appeared at a Jamaica Olympic Association/Puma press conference later that day and said he has not had the chance to see much of the Athletes' Village — "just the dining room" — but chances are he won't get to see much, given the demand on his time by other athletes.

Lochte blows away Phelps to win 400 individual medley

2012-07-28T18:17:00.003-07:00

LONDON, England (AP) — Ryan Lochte turned his much-anticipated duel with Michael Phelps into a blowout, pulling away to win the Olympic 400-meter individual medley by more than 3 seconds Saturday night. Even more stunning: Phelps didn't win any medal at all.

After barely qualifying for the evening final in a performance that hinted at trouble ahead, Phelps struggled to a fourth-place finish and was denied his 17th career Olympic medal. When it was done, he could barely pull himself out of the pool.

Phelps...finished out of medal contention

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"It was just a crappy race," Phelps said. "I felt fine the first 200, then I don't know. They just swam a better race than me, a smarter race than me, and were better prepared than me. That's why they're on the medal stand."

Lochte took the gold with a time of 4 minutes, 5.18 seconds. Brazil's Thiago Pereira (4:08.86) settled for silver, while Japan's Kosuke Hagino (4:08.94) claimed the bronze — beating Phelps by a fairly comfortable 34-hundredths of a second for the last spot on the podium.

It was the first time since the 2000 Sydney Games, when Phelps was a 15-year-old unknown who qualified in just one event, that he didn't win at least a bronze in an Olympic race. Since then, he was 16-of-16 — 14 golds and two bronzes.

Lochte climbed out of the pool with a big smile, waving to the crowd and looking about a fresh as he did at the start. He had predicted this would be his year and, for the first race of the Olympics at least, he was right on the mark.

"I think I'm kind of in shock right now," he said. As for Phelps, "I know he gave it everything he had. That's all you can ask for."

Phelps was trying to become the first male swimmer to win the same individual event at three straight Olympics. He'll have three more chances at a threepeat before he's done in London, having also won the 200 individual medley, plus the 100 and 200 butterfly, at Athens and Beijing.

London protesters march against 'capitalist' Games

2012-07-28T18:15:00.002-07:00

LONDON, England (AP) - About 500 people critical of the economic impact and corporate flavour of the London Olympics marched Saturday near the Olympic Park, determined to send a message that Britain is not united in backing the games.

The protest march came hours after police arrested more than 130 bicyclists who had defied an order to avoid cycling in groups around the stadium during Friday night's opening ceremony.

Police said they had ordered the protesters to remain south of the River Thames, to keep them from blocking thousands of ticket-holding guests from attending the opening ceremony. The cyclists said they were held in a cordon by police, and later arrested, for trying to cycle in lanes restricted for official Olympic traffic.

Occupy London, part of a global movement that has waged demonstrations against financial institutions and capitalist policies, said some cyclists were members of the movement. They said police cordoned off more than 100 cyclists at one road junction near the stadium as Friday's ceremony was beginning and held them there several hours.

Saturday's protest, the largest so far against the games, drew a mix of left-wing and green activists who decry the Olympics as a corporate juggernaut rolling over residents and their civil rights.

They marched peacefully, chanting against what they called the "Corpolympics," watched by police officers on foot and motorcycle.

The protesters contend that the often-cited Olympic boost to traditionally gritty, working-class east London is an illusion, whereas major corporate sponsors such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola gain from the 9.3 billion pound ($14 billion) games. They said the mass arrests at the cycling demonstration, and limits on corporate branding designed to protect sponsors, show that the games are a threat to civil liberties.

Underscoring that message, the marchers passed one of the apartment buildings that have had British army ground-to-air missiles deployed on its roof. That security measure, designed to stop a hijacked aircraft from being crashed into an Olympics venue, has drawn fierce local opposition.

Olympics organisers and the government say the games will leave a legacy of thousands of new homes and jobs, and a major new park in a long-deprived area.

One protester, Michael Coulston, said the British government chose to spend billions on attracting visitors "to one location for a couple of weeks" rather than to build infrastructure of lasting benefit to all Londoners.

Like many on the march, Coulston said he doesn't object to the games themselves, but feels that recession-hit Britain was sending out a false message: "Let's pretend to the world that we're happy."

Many Britons were initially unenthusiastic about the games, a pessimism bolstered by pre-Olympic headlines about security troubles and feared transit chaos. But the mood has lifted now that the event is happening, especially after director Danny Boyle's spectacular opening ceremony.

East End resident Leonard Grieves, who came out of his house to wave an Olympic flag at the passing protesters, said the games had brought real benefits to the district.

"We've seen the area go from almost a wreck to a really nice place," he said.

Squats: The Best Exercise To Lose Belly Fat

2012-07-28T06:45:00.000-07:00

It may surprise many people – maybe even you – but the best exercise to lose body fat isn’t even an abdominal exercise at all! See, stomach exercises (such as crunches) only work your mid section, which is fine for strength and condition the abs, but in terms of dropping unwanted body fat, it has a long, LONG way to go to beat this classic:

Squats: The Best Exercise For Losing Body Fat

I can hear the moaning already, and some of you might already be saying: “What? Squats don’t even work the abs, how in the heck can they help drop unwanted stomach flab?”

Technically, this isn’t true at all, as squats do work the mid section, albeit mostly as a stabilizing function throughout the movement. But for the sake of the bigger picture, let’s remember that our muscles burn calories at a tremendously faster rate than body fat, and furthermore, the larger the muscles you use, the more hungry muscle tissue you’ll have begging for some of those stored calories (i.e. belly fat). Add in the fact that the Squat actively uses muscles in the lower body, midsection and even the upper body, and not only are you recruiting big muscles, but you’re recruiting them in mass.

I should mention that any workout or exercise routine should include exercises from every major muscle group, but since you probably ended up here looking for the one BEST exercise – the movement you should perform if you could only do one – you won’t find anything better than this one.

How To Perform The Squat

Ready to kick your unwanted belly fat to the curb for good? Get ready because you’re probably going to sweat.

Why? Because all of those big, fat-breathing muscles also demand oxygen as they fire, which means you’ll quickly find yourself in “Oxygen Debt” (a fancy way for saying “out of breath”). But more importantly, it means your big muscle fibers are devouring calories and stored fat like an NFL lineman sizing up an all-you-can-eat buffet.

You can perform squats with or without weights. The two most common ways of using weight are to place a barbell across the top of your back (called a “Back Squat”) or to hold dumbbells in each hand. As an unweighted, or “body weight” exercise, most people either interlace their fingers behind their head (called a “Prisoner Squat”) or hold them straight out in front of them, parallel to the floor. Experiment and find out what works best for you.

Step 1: Stand facing forward with your feet a little less than shoulder width apart. Also make sure your toes are lined up facing forward.

Step 2: Keeping your back straight, bend at the knee and lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Don’t let your knees go any farther forward than your toes; it often helps to envision sitting down in a chair, with the back of your legs already brushing up against the front edge.

Step 3: Drive through your heels (not toes!) and return to the starting position.

See, not so bad, eh? And if you incorporate these into your exercise routine, you’ll get much better results than those silly folks flailing on the ab equipment thinking crunches are the best exercise to lose body fat.

GAME ON! Olympics opens with royalty and rock

2012-07-28T06:32:00.003-07:00

LONDON, England (AP) — The Queen and James Bond gave the London Olympics a royal entrance like no other yesterday in an opening ceremony that rolled to the rock of the Beatles, the Stones and The Who.

And the creative genius of Danny Boyle spliced it all together.

Fireworks explode above the Tower Bridge over the river Thames during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics yesterday.

Brilliant. Cheeky, too.

The highlight of the Oscar-winning director's $42-million show was pure movie magic, using trickery to make it seem that Britain's beloved 86-year-old Queen Elizabeth II had parachuted into the stadium with the nation's most famous spy.

A short film showed 007 driving up to Buckingham Palace in a black London cab and, pursued by her majesty's royal dogs — Monty, Willow and Holly, playing themselves — meeting The Queen, who played herself.

"Good evening, Mr Bond," she said.

They were shown flying in a helicopter over London landmarks and a waving statue of Winston Churchill — the queen in a salmon-coloured gown, Bond dashing as ever in a black tuxedo — to the stadium and then leaping out into the inky night.

At the same moment, real skydivers appeared in the skies over the stadium throbbing to the James Bond soundtrack. And moments after that, the monarch appeared in person, accompanied by her husband Prince Philip.

Organisers said it was thought to be the first time the monarch has acted on film.

"The Queen made herself more accessible than ever before," Boyle said.

In the stadium, Elizabeth stood solemnly while a children's choir serenaded her with God Save the Queen, and members of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force raised the Union Jack.

Much of the opening ceremony was an encyclopedic review of British music history, from a 1918 Broadway standard adopted by the West Ham football team to the Rolling Stones' I Can't Get No Satisfaction to Bohemian Rhapsody, by still another Queen.

The evening started with fighter jets streaming red, white and blue smoke and roaring over the stadium, packed with a buzzing crowd of 60,000 people, at 8:12pm — or 20:12 in the 24-hour time observed by Britons.

An explosion of fireworks against the London skyline and Paul McCartney leading a singalong were to wrap up the three-hour opening ceremony masterminded by one of Britain's most successful filmmakers.

Boyle, the director of Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting, had a ball with his favoured medium, mixing filmed passages with live action in the stadium to hypnotic effect, with 15,000 volunteers taking part in the show.

Actor Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean provided laughs, shown dreaming that he was appearing in Chariots of Fire, the inspiring story of a Scotsman and an Englishman at the 1924 Paris Games.

There was a high-speed flyover of the Thames, the river that winds like a vein through London and was the gateway for the city's rise over the centuries as a great global hub of trade and industry.

Headlong rushes of movie images took spectators on wondrous, heart-racing voyages through everything British: a cricket match, the London Tube and the roaring, abundant seas that buffet and protect this island nation.

Boyle turned the stadium into a throbbing juke box, with a nonstop rock and pop homage to cool Britannia that ensured the show never caught its breath.

The throbbing soundtrack included the Sex Pistols' Pretty Vacant and a snippet of their version of God Save the Queen — an anti-establishment punk anthem once banned by the BBC. There were The Who's My Generation and other tracks too numerous to mention, but not to dance to.

Opening the ceremony, children popped balloons with each number from 10 to 1, leading a countdown that climaxed with Bradley Wiggins, the newly crowned Tour de France champion.

Wearing his race-winner's yellow jersey, Wiggins rang a 23-ton Olympic Bell from the same London foundry that made Big Ben and Philadelphia's Liberty Bell. Its thunderous chime was a nod to the British tradition of pealing bells to celebrate the end of war and the crowning of kings and queens, and now for the opening of a 17-day festival of sports.

The show then shifted to a portrayal of idyllic rural Britain — a place of meadows, farms, sport on village greens, picnics and Winnie-the-Pooh, AA Milne's bear who has delighted generations of British children tucked warmly in bed.

But the British ideal — to quote poet William Blake, of "England's green and pleasant land" — then took a darker, grittier turn.

The set was literally torn asunder, the hedgerows and farm fences carried away, as Boyle shifted to the industrial transformation that revolutionised Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries, the foundation for an empire that reshaped world history. Belching chimneys rose where only moments earlier sheep had trod.

The Industrial Revolution also produced terrifying weapons, and Boyle built a moment of hush into his show to honour those killed in war.

Olympic organisers separately rejected calls for a moment of silence for 11 Israeli athletes and coaches slain by Palestinian gunmen at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Two of the Israelis' widows appealed to audience members to stand in silence when International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge rose to speak later at yesterday's ceremony. The Israeli culture and sport minister planned to do just that.

The parade of nations featured most of the roughly 10,500 athletes — some planned to stay away to save their strength for competition — marching behind the flags of the 204 nations taking part.

TYPES OF FOOD THAT INCREASE SPERMS COUNT

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When you and your partner are ready to try to conceive a baby, it is important to eat the right foods so that your body can make healthy semen, which increases your chances of success. According to Baby Centre, 32 percent of infertility issues are linked to men. Change your diet to incorporate foods that promote healthy reproduction before you begin trying for a baby to ensure that your semen is as healthy as possible.

Oysters

Oysters are high in zinc, a nutrient that is vital to producing more semen. Zinc plays an important role in male reproduction by promoting healthy semen production and function, reports MayoClinic.com. If you are trying to conceive a baby with your partner, add some oysters to your diet to help you meet your zinc needs. If you don't like oysters, zinc is also available in seeds, nuts, red meat, wheat, barley, turkey and lamb. Talk to your doctor about taking a supplement that contains zinc if you are still having trouble meeting your recommended daily quota, which is 11 mg, according to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. Six oysters contain about 76 micrograms of zinc.

Asparagus

MayoClinic.com recommends eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, which will contribute to a healthy amount of semen. However, asparagus is a particularly good choice because it is high in folate, or folic acid, according to MaleEnhancement.org. This nutrient is often associated with the reduced risk of neural tube birth defects in a pregnant woman's diet. However, folate is also important for healthy semen volume. Asparagus contains antioxidants that help sperm stay healthy and increases the amount of healthy semen that is available for conceiving a baby. Okra, broccoli and citrus fruits are other good sources of folic acid that can help you create more semen. A multivitamin will also help you meet your daily needs of 400 mg per day.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a good source of lycopene, a substance that aids in the increase of semen, reports MaleEnhancement.org. Adding tomatoes and tomato products to your diet on a regular basis increases semen volume, but also keeps sperm healthy so that your odds of conception are higher. If you don't care for raw tomatoes, pasta sauce and pizza sauce are both good ways to incorporate tomatoes into your diet. Other good sources of lycopene include guavas and pink grapefruits. It is important to eat lycopene-containing foods because it is not available from the standard multivitamin you may already be taking. In addition, a diet high in fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes, promotes a healthy weight, another factor in producing a good amount of quality semen.