Breaking News

Icahn says CEO of Yahoo has to go

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Tue, 3 Jun 2008 14:27:00 -0700

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn plans to seek the ouster CEO Jerry Yang of Yahoo, should the Sea of dissident directors win control of Yahoo in the Governing Council, on the basis of a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Icahn is centered his comments on the Elimination of Yahoo in the Board of Directors, of which Ian is one of nine members who are elected for a one-year term, the next annual meeting is held.

Icahn obviously irate over the recently released details of the shareholders lawsuit unsealed Monday, according to the Journal. In the amended lawsuit by two Detroit pension funds, Jan is portrayed as an architect of controversial labour officer program, which will happen if Yahoo undergoes a change in control.

The change in control applies not only buyout, like Microsoft is one of the table before it withdrew its 33 U.S. dollars bid for Yahoo share on May 3, but also a change in control of a majority of Yahoo in the management board, as noted in CNET News.com blog.

"It is no longer secret to me why Microsoft's offer is not super," Icahn said in his interview Journal. "How can Yahoo say they willing to negotiate and sell the company on the one hand, while they are completely sabotaging the process without anyone."

Icahn believes he noted in the lawsuit unsealed shareholders will support his efforts to win a proxy fight to unseat Yahoo on board, especially given their belief that investors will fear Microsoft will not return to the buyout proposal to Jan and current board have passed.

The importance of a Competitive Search Market

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Sun, 25 May 2008 16:55:00 -0700

Is Microsoft's vision to compete in the search and reinvent itself as an advertising company no more than an attempt to get back in his familiar position as Top Gun? Should Microsoft, Google and all the others just give up on the search and outsource to Google? This is what Tim O'Reilly argues in a blog post today, and I do not think he could be more wrong.

O'Reilly says Microsoft lost its way after the completion of its long-time goal to see "a computer on every desk and in every home." They are drifting now, he says, and "their only goal seems to be on top of the heap." Attempts to "eat Google's lunch" in the search wars is a symptom of this problem, he argues. Google already claimed a mission to "organize all the world's information," and he says they have already won on the search, "or close enough to make any difference." Microsoft should move on to something new, that it can win.

So his advice to Microsoft: Outsource search to Google, and go solve another problem - building out Internet Operating System.

I will not argue with Tim on whether it is a good idea or not for Microsoft to put more resources into the web services infrastructure and software world. I think it is a good idea. But what I do not understand is why he believes Microsoft must give up their efforts to seek to do so. And I also think that what he suggests - an absolute monopoly on the search - would be a disaster for the Internet.

Innovation in the search has just begun

I simply can not believe that only a little over a decade in the commercial Internet, Tim O'Reilly is willing to say that the search war is over. Has he not read his good friend John Battelle's book, The Search? He is not the only expert out there who think the war is over - Danny Sullivan argued as much on the Gillmor Gang last week. But I simply can not believe that this is all we can expect in terms of search innovation.

There are so many areas of the search, which remain to be conquered. Semantic search. Real language / AI search. The deep web. Media search. Today, looking basically returns web documents. What I want is for search to perform tasks for me. We are no where near the day.

We are just getting started in the search. To believe that the search has reached its pinnacle today is like saying air was perfected before World War I. And if only one company had to operate in aircraft innovation at this point, I doubt we will have jet whisking us around the world today.

Innovation does not occur at a rapid pace without competition. If Google or any company was to search only, we would expect to see little done in search technology or business models, even in the medium and long term.

Sure, the odd start or two will still come together and try to shake things up. But the search is intensive infrastructure - the cost and difficulty of indexing the Internet and building a business in an established market requires resources that most new start-ups can not realistically access. And if the market consolidated further, competing, it will be much harder. There is reason monopolies have broken up by the governments - the market can not generally undo them.

Search Matador and a healthy Internet mutually exclusive

Search is important because it is the starting point for most commercial intentions on the Internet. As I wrote earlier this week, 68% of online purchases begin on a search engine or shopping comparison site. The drive revenue, and a lot of it. Approximately 40%, or $ 16 billion, of $ 40 billion collected in online advertising comes from search. And 80% of the $ 16 billion comes from trade-related searches.

The online advertising space is still growing rapidly and there are estimates that it will increase to $ 80 billion in 2010. If Google continues its dominance of search, they can surpass Microsoft in revenue, and at least in profitability in the next few years. The fact that Microsoft will not be able to count on fat desktop software surpluses forever only makes the problem worse.

Search and advertising is effective mirrors of each other. To say that it is OK for there to be a player in the search is to say that it is ok, if there is a monopoly in advertising.

We have already seen what happens if there is a dominant player in search - little effort put into innovation, and not enough revenue flows to enterprises that add value to the system. The risk of the entire ecosystem is endangered.

For example, the CPC (cost per click) model is wrong, but in Google's advantage because it enables fraud risk ineffective on the advertisers who have no way to verify the level of the search engine. CPA (cost per action) model works much better, but Google has done much more than test them. The current system is great for Google and bad for advertisers. But advertisers have nowhere else to go, since Google has 60 +% of the search market (and perhaps as much as 90% of search revenue), so they can live with it. Microsoft's latest Live Search Cashback initiative shows that competition can and will create more efficient systems.

On the publisher side things are even worse. Google does not share enough revenue with content sites to display their ads. The only thing keeping them even close to honest is the fact that Yahoo and Microsoft will occasionally compete for these partners. Take it away, and Google will go back to keep most of the advertising revenue generated by these sites (their only competition will be other forms of advertising, which generates far less revenue). It is a terrible result, when you look at it from the perspective of the health of the Internet.

Microsoft can not ignore the online advertising market, it's just too big and important. And we have to be behind them in this effort, because if Microsoft and Yahoo lose interest, we will be in a monopoly, and the Internet will suffer. Competition-driven innovation. Competition drives prices down. To wish this away is irresponsible.

UrTurn Pays you when use Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:02:00 -0700

Keeping up with your friends, social networks have been hard work (enough so that many of us spend hours on it every week). Is it not you want to make a few bucks for your problems?

Meet UrTurn, a new startup that hopes to be able to create a virtual single currency in all major social networks. The site is a root launched a public beta, and it is at this time is made available to Facebook app (MySpace expected shortly). The first 250 TechCrunch readers who sign the code, using ERAS4 here will receive 500 bonus points.

In some respects, UrTurn acts, such as a virtual pyramid scheme - users can get points by inviting their friends (and even more points, if these friends will increase the application). But users can also get points by running the day-to-day activities. They earn less points, but they add up - in the case were to add two friends, the five pictures, and two in the role of Facebook messages on a daily basis a year, you'll have enough points for the iPod Touch.

Users are points UrTurn's virtual warehouse, where they will they be able to buy GIFT CARDS or digital gadgets (we can expect the stock to grow as the site expands). Alternatively, users will be able to make points, that is the market and sell them for money. You are not going to get rich this way, but getting paid to surf the Facebook is certainly an attractive idea. The strategy aims to reduce the gaming of the system, the site requires users to tie their accounts to an active PayPal account

At the moment, UrTurn will examine a number of ways to earn money for their application. In addition, standard advertising, UrTurn is considering placing a tax on each transaction in the market. The site also plans to release the API, which can help them integrate and is a REV-share with other applications so that they can share their points based on the use of third-party applications (site to launch a pilot program five appssavvy apps, next month).

Virtual currency has been a long history of failure - the late 90-Beenz.com unsuccessfully tried to create a global currency that could rival the dollar and the pound (that the company closed its doors in 2001). UrTurn is, therefore, to combat many users are trying to abuse the system, and they may have a hard time monetizing their app, when so little work is required the user's part. That said, the social networks are in need of an effective Micropayment system, and a virtual currency may be the answer. Acebucks, which covered the period from last autumn, is another company that will seek to consolidate its position as the single currency of social networks.

Privacy Policy

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Sun, 18 May 2008 23:23:00 -0700

This policy is valid from 19 May 2008

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact interizzti@yahoo.com.

This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

Microsoft and Yahoo re-enter negotiations

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Sun, 18 May 2008 18:10:00 -0700

Microsoft announced Sunday afternoon, he issued another proposal in which Yahoo calls for a transaction with Yahoo, but would not require the acquisition of all assets of Yahoo.

The announcement comes just days after billionaire investor Carl Icahn launched a proxy fight to overthrow Yahoo current board the Internet search pioneer of pre-July 3 Annual general meeting of shareholders.

Icahn, a large Yahoo stakeholders, to put pressure on the research undertaken to restart talks with Microsoft after the software giant withdrew its bid unsolicited $ 33 action on May 3.

While Microsoft has repeatedly said he has "changed" after withdrawing its offer Yahoo, the software giant still faces the question of how it would strengthen its Internet operations to compete with its arch-rival Google. And Yahoo, who told News.com sources, considered the ball to Microsoft in court because he is the one to withdraw from the agreement, to the anger of its main shareholders after these talks have not addressed.

"Microsoft is reviewing and Yahoo raised with a solution that would involve a transaction with Yahoo but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo, Microsoft said in a statement.

"Microsoft does not propose to make a new offer to acquire all of Yahoo at the moment, but reserves the right to review than others depending on the development of relations and discussions that take place May with Yahoo or discussions with the shareholders of Yahoo or Microsoft or other third parties, "the software giant said.

Microsoft noted that there is no guarantee there May come from these discussions.

Microsoft declined to comment beyond what he published in his statement, a spokesman for Microsoft. Yahoo declined to comment at this time, a spokesman for Yahoo.

But according to reports in The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft has proposed an arrangement in which Microsoft should sell advertisements to be displayed alongside search results Yahoo, in an effort to combat competition from Google.

The timing of Microsoft's proposal is that Yahoo is preparing to announce a transaction with Google, as early as next week, which calls for Yahoo to use Google search ads.

Such a market has weighed heavily on Microsoft, who said when he withdrew his bid to forgo a hostile takeover of Yahoo in the hope that it would not encourage the research on the Internet pioneer to go running into the arms of Google.

A scenario worth keeping an eye on is whether Yahoo is moving forward with its Google partnership. If Yahoo hooks with Google, Microsoft, at this stage, consider May he had nothing to lose by strengthening Icahn's proxy fight by making a new offer to acquire all shares of Yahoo. This transfer would give Icahn's proxy fight real teeth, that investors know that if they vote for the Icahn slate, they would in essence be a vote for merging companies.

To reiterate Microsoft's statement Sunday: "Microsoft does not propose to make a new offer to acquire all of Yahoo at the moment, but reserves the right to review than others depending on the evolution of relations and discussions which took place May with Yahoo! Or discussions with the shareholders of Yahoo. "

Despite these recent developments in the resumption of talks between the companies, Icahn and Microsoft have had no contact, according to people familiar with the talks.

If Microsoft and Yahoo strike a deal to slice and dice the pioneering research on the Internet, Microsoft would most likely be interested in finding Yahoo and advertising of bids, since that is where the Redmond giant has trouble to take the initiative.

In addressing the software giant as regards the declaration of Yahoo and its future plans, Kevin Johnson, Windows and Windows Live-in-chief, said Sunday in a letter to employees:

Whatever the outcome of any further discussion, it is important that we continue to move forward to strengthen our services business online. The fact is that we are not where we want to be in this business and we still have been in this position longer than we would all like. To this end, we will accelerate elements of our basic strategy, and breaking ground in new areas. "

Microsoft research strategy, as outlined earlier by News.com 's Ina Fried, will be unveiled Wednesday during its annual conference on advertising, advance 08. This strategy includes expanding its capabilities in new types of vertical search and improving the overall relevance of search queries. For example, Microsoft will strengthen its stores search tools and improvements to its search algorithms.

Apple iPhone remains Worldwide March

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:17:00 -0700

The iPhone scope is expanding. Orange, France Telecom's flagship brand, announced that it will sell Apple phone in other countries in Europe and the Middle East and Africa.

Orange said it will sell the iPhone in Austria, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and the African countries of Cote d'Ivoire, Jordan, Cameroon, Botswana, Madagascar, Mali, Senegal, Mauritius and Runion.

The agreement expands the list of countries where Apple agreed to operate on a non-exclusive basis. Among the countries announced in this agreement, Orange will be exclusive only in Belgium and Romania.

Many Deals

Earlier this month, Vodafone announced it had signed an agreement to provide iPhone in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey.

Days ago, Swisscom announced that it had obtained the right to sell the iPhone in Switzerland. "The iPhone will be available later this year," a statement on the website simply said. The fact that the company will not sell the phone until later in the year suggests that it will sell even one-to-be-announced version 3G.

The Swiss newspaper Le Matin reported that Swisscom is to treat an iPhone 3G would provide two-way discussions, mobile TV and GPS navigation. The plan also calls for Swisscom to offer "attractive" incentives and a high-end plan to include mobile video and other media services, Le Matin.

Sea Change for Apple

And on Monday, Singapore-based SingTel issued a statement announcing line, he signed an agreement with Apple to sell the phone in Singapore, India, the Philippines and Australia.

All these non-trafficking Wednesday marks a change for Apple, which until recently insisted on exclusive agreements with carriers. The iPhone launched with an exclusive deal with AT & T in the USA, followed by similar deals with O2 in the UK, Orange France and Deutsche Telekom in Germany.

The same is true of this eruption, nonexclusives days are numbered for AT & T and other carriers with exclusive offers from the West? No, "said Tim Bajarin, principal analyst at Creative Strategies. Apple is "locked in a long-term agreement with AT & T in the USA and others in Europe, but in some of these new countries, they clearly scope for doing things differently," said Bajarin.

Redefining the mobile Internet

How the iPhone be received in the developing world? "The iPhone is still a market for smartphone, but it will appeal to some people in any country and those who can afford it," said Bajarin.

But what many consumers in the USA and other countries not yet May, is that the iPhone is more than a phone. "The great thing is its impact on all countries in how it affects how they view mobile computing," said Bajarin. "In the past, mobile computing means laptops. With the iPhone provide PC-like functionality in the power of a handheld, it is set to redefine what the mobile Internet will be in the World."

Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco in June is where it is widely CEO is expected that Steve Jobs will unveil a 3G iPhone. Luigi Licciardi, CEO of Telecom Italia Mobile, apparently confirmed these rumours earlier this week when he told Electronics Weekly, "We will be selling iPhone with a capacity of 3G next month."

Figo upsets animal rights activists

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Sun, 11 May 2008 04:49:00 -0700

ROME (AFP) - Veteran Portuguese winger Luis Figo is under fire from animal rights groups in Italy after apparently deliberately killing a black cat, Ansa said on Saturday.

Banners lambasting the Inter Milan player were hung up near the club's training ground overnight from Friday to Saturday.

One said: "Figo, you've killed a black cat, the whole world is disgusted with you."

Another added: "Figo, shame for Inter, justice for the cat."

According to the Friday edition of the Libero newspaper, Figo deliberately killed a black cat that lived near the training ground with his car, believing it to be bringing bad luck to his team.

Figo denied killing the cat in a statement released on Inter's website on Saturday.

"It's is completely untrue. I want them to apologise otherwise I will be obliged to take legal action," he said.

Inter claimed that Figo was "gravely offended on a human level" by the false accusation.

Spotplex Suffers Identity Crisis, Stumbles Into DeadPool

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Sun, 11 May 2008 04:48:00 -0700

We introduced Spotplex in February 2007 as a potential Digg killer that served up popular stories by monitoring how many people read them. Somewhere along the way, it also turned into an Alexa-like analytics service. Unfortunately, neither market worked out for them and they’ve been forced to shut their doors.

The Digg-style service used JavaScript that was embedded on participating pages to track how often posts were read, and top-read posts were featured on Spotplex’s homepage. The service set itself apart from Digg by requiring no intervention on the reader’s part to promote a page. On the other hand, Spotplex only recorded hits on blogs that had embedded the Javascript snippets, which severely restricted its sources of content.

Spotplex’s JavaScript embeds were also used to offer an analytics service that was designed to contend with sites like Alexa and Compete. While the addition of this service marked a shift to a very different market, both of Spotplex’s services leveraged the same backend.

CEO Doyon Kim says that the company’s ultimate failure was due to a lack of adequate funding. The company underestimated the resources that were required to build and maintain its service, and it neglected to seek venture funding after its $450,000 seed round. This is surprising given Kim’s experience in the industry: he co-founded DialPad, which was acquired by Yahoo in 2005.

Manchester United reveal financial loss

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Fri, 9 May 2008 21:16:00 -0700

LONDON (AP)—Manchester United had a $113.4 million net loss in the fiscal year ending last June 30, despite winning the English Premier League title.

Revenue rose 21 percent to $409 million but the team owes $1.5 billion to creditors, including $109 million in transfer fee installments on players signed by Alex Ferguson, according to accounts released this week by Red Football Joint Venture Ltd.

The latest figures from the team’s holding company cover a period that included a refinancing in 2006 that followed Malcolm Glazer’s takeover the previous year. The team owes $296 million to hedge funds at a 14.25 interest rate.

The holding company was upbeat about Manchester United’s prospects for 2007-08, saying a record 64,500 season tickets had been sold before the start of the season and that the club was to benefit from an increased share of TV revenue from the Union of European Football Associations.

The current season also marks the first year of the Premier League’s three-year television deal that was to increase domestic media revenue by more than 50 percent.

Holders Roma to face Inter in Italian Cup final

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Fri, 9 May 2008 02:50:00 -0700

MILAN, May 8 (Reuters) - Holders AS Roma will meet Inter Milan in the Italian Cup final for the fourth consecutive season after drawing 1-1 at Catania on Thursday to progress 2-1 on aggregate.

Serie A leaders Inter and second-placed Roma are assured of a Champions League place next season so Italy’s third UEFA Cup spot will now go to the seventh-placed team in the league.

AC Milan, Fiorentina, Udinese and Sampdoria, one of whom will go into the Champions League qualifiers, are therefore guaranteed a UEFA Cup spot because eighth-placed Genoa cannot overhaul them with two games left.

Midfielder Alberto Aquilani converted a penalty on 27 minutes after Mirko Vucinic was fouled to put Roma in full command of the semi-final, second leg following their 1-0 win in last month’s first leg.

Cristian Silvestri headed in a free kick unmarked for the hosts two minutes later and the Sicilians could have had a penalty when Roma goalkeeper Gianluca Curci pushed Marco Biagianti, but generally the visitors controlled the game.

The final will be played in Rome on May 24.

“It will be a great satisfaction to play in front of our own crowd in another final. It confirms the hard work of these lads,” Roma boss Luciano Spalletti told Rai television.

Both teams fielded slightly weakened sides with Sunday’s penultimate round of Serie A matches in mind. Roma, who host Atalanta, are three points behind Inter and could still snatch the ‘scudetto’ if their rivals slip up.

Catania are a point above the drop zone and a win at Juventus at the weekend could make Walter Zenga’s team safe.

Inter, who also played a number of reserves, won 2-0 at Lazio in their semi-final second leg on Wednesday to go through 2-0 on aggregate.

Roma beat Inter 7-4 on aggregate in last season’s final, which was played over two legs, with Inter triumphing the previous two years.

Use TwitterFone For Easy Voice-To-Text On Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Wed, 7 May 2008 03:56:00 -0700

Twitter is certainly usable via SMS on a mobile device, but typing messages on a phone is cumbersome. A service that converts voice to text and then posts it to Twitter could be a niche hit.

A number of services have launched to allow users to record messages and link to the recording from Twitter (see Twitsay, Twittergram). And services like Jott and Spinvox are providing tools that allow voice to text conversion for Twitter, Facebook, Pownce and other social networks. But nothing I’ve seen so far is as simple to use as TwitterFone, a new service by serial Irish entrepreneur Pat Phelan.

The service launched moments ago into private beta. To use it you need to verify your phone number and Twitter account, and TwitterFone will then give you a local phone number to call to leave messages (they support the U.S., UK and Ireland now, adding more). Then, any message you send will be transcribed, and posted to Twitter along with a link to the recording (here’s a test message I left). If the message is longer than 140 characters, just the first part is transcribed, but the entire recording is still available. There is a time limit of 15 seconds on the recording.

The service is partially automated via voice recognition software, and flagged words go to a human for translation. For now the service supports English only; Japanese support is promised in 8 weeks or so.

One problem/slightly humorous aspect of the service is that there is no going back once you start recording. In this test message I started coughing and just hung up. The coughing was dutifully transcribed and posted. A simple option at the end of a call to delete the message is needed.

The service is free for now, they may add premium features over time. We have a handful of beta accounts to give out now. Tell us why you think you need it in the comments below - the most compelling get an account.

The Jolie-Pitts Invade Monaco!

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Mon, 5 May 2008 06:55:00 -0700

The Jolie-Pitts have been in France less than a week and are already living it up! While I could see never ever wanting to leave that gorgeous estate they're staying at — check out more about it here — there was lots to explore this weekend. On Saturday, Angelina and Brad took Zahara for a helicopter ride before picking up the boys Maddox and Pax for a trip to the beach in Monaco on Sunday. How adorable is Brad lifting Pax in the air and Zahara's red dress? Angelina's looking huge already but sadly the youngest Jolie-Pitt, Shiloh, didn't get to come on any of the outings. Hopefully next time the littlest one gets to come along for all the fun abroad.

Dell Hurries to Fix Faulty Laptop Keyboards

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Sat, 3 May 2008 22:43:00 -0700

Dell on Friday said it has stopped shipment of two Vostro laptop models in Europe after discovering a faulty keyboard design with a few keys out of place.

A Dell customer in the U.K., who ordered the Vostro 1310, noticed that the bottom row of letters on the keyboard was shifted to the right. That's because the left Shift key is oversized and a new key, \, is placed between the Shift and Z keys, moving the entire row so that it doesn't comply with a traditional keyboard layout.

"This is not a US/UK layout issue, just a general monumental flaw," wrote the U.K. customer in an online post, deliberately retaining spelling errors in other parts of his message to highlight the design problem.

A limited number of Vostro 1310 and 1510 laptops with the wrong keyboard layout were shipped in Europe in the middle of April, said Jennifer Davis, a Dell spokeswoman. The company has suspended further shipments of the laptop models until the problem is fixed, she said.

Dell will replace the keyboards for customers who have received the laptops with faulty keyboards, Davis said.

"Customers will be given a choice to receive the keyboard kit or have a tech [representative] come on-site," Davis said. The new keyboard is easy to install, Davis said.

The laptops haven't shipped in other parts of the world, so other regions aren't affected by the glitch, Davis said

Man U beats West Ham

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Sat, 3 May 2008 22:39:00 -0700

LONDON (AP)—First-place Manchester United played with 10 men for most of the game and beat West Ham 4-1 Saturday behind two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo. The victory put further pressure on second-place Chelsea in the Premier League race.

United has 84 points and is three ahead with a game left. Chelsea, United’s only rival for the title, has 81 points with a game in hand and plays Newcastle on Monday.

United and Chelsea also play in the Champions League final May 21 in Moscow.

Ronaldo brought his goal tally to 40 this season, scoring in the third and 24th minutes. Carlos Tevez and Michael Carrick also scored for United, which played with 10 men from the 37th minute after Nani was sent off for head-butting West Ham’s Lucas O’Neill. West Ham pulled a goal back in the 38th with a scissors kick by Dean Ashton.

Fulham moved out of the relegation zone for the first time this year with its 2-0 win over Birmingham, pushing Reading down into the bottom three.

Brian McBride, one of five Americans on Fulham, scored his fourth goal of the season by heading in a free kick from Jimmy Bullard in the 52nd minute and Erik Nevland added a goal in the 87th.

Bolton downed Sunderland 2-0 and, in effect, secured its place in next season’s Premier League. It has 36 points and is in 16th place with a much better goal difference than 18th-place Reading.

That leaves the relegation battle to three clubs. Fulham has 33 points for 17th place, ahead of Reading on goal difference. Birmingham is in 19th place with 32 points, with already-relegated Derby in last place with 11 points.

Reading, which hasn’t won or scored in its last six games, lost 1-0 to Tottenham. Reading, which has two Americans, could have climbed out of the relegation zone with a win but Robbie Keane scored for Spurs in the 16th minute.

MADRID, Spain (AP)—Teenage midfielder Ignacio Camacho scored two goals to lead Atletico Madrid over Recreativo Huelva 3-0 in the Spanish league. The win tightens Atletico’s grip on the fourth Champions League qualifying place.

Camacho beat goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino to a cross in the 23rd minute to head in his first league goal on the eve of his 18th birthday. In the 75th, he swiveled to score from a loose ball. Sergio Aguero scored in the 54th after sliding in Maxi Rodriguez’s centering pass.

Atletico is fourth with 58 points, five more than Racing Santander and six better than Sevilla.

Defender Roberto Ayala scored on the last play of the game to give Zaragoza a 1-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna to lift it out of the relegation drop zone into 16th with 41 points.

Real Madrid can in effect clinch its record 31st league trophy before it plays No. 17 Osasuna on Sunday if Villarreal fails to beat Getafe earlier in the day.

Defending champion Madrid leads with 75 points and Villarreal has 65 with four games remaining for both teams. Madrid has the superior head-to-head record if both teams finish with the same points total.

FC Barcelona, which plays Valencia on Sunday, is out of contention with 61 points.

BERLIN (AP)—Werder Bremen defeated Energie Cottbus 2-0 to delay Bayern Munich’s 20th Bundesliga title celebrations for at least another day.

Bremen won when Markus Rosenberg scored in the 67th minute and Hugo Almeida added a second goal in the 79th.

Bayern plays at VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday in a match that could clinch the club a 21st title, including a 1931-32 championship before the Bundesliga was formed.

Even a loss Sunday won’t help Bremen much. Bremen trails by nine points with three more rounds to play and is 18 behind on goal difference. The focus now is to hold second place and a guaranteed Champions League berth.

Bremen pulled two points ahead of third-placed Schalke, which was eliminated from the title chase with a 1-1 tie against Hannover 96. Fifth-place VfB Stuttgart kept alive its hopes for one of the league’s three Champions League spots with a 4-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt.

PARIS (AP)—Lyon was held to a 0-0 draw by Nice and must wait until the next round to try to clinch its seventh straight French title. Lyon had chances but again failed to score against Nice after being held 0-0 at home earlier this season.

Juninho and Jeremy Toulalan hit the crossbar and Karim Benzema also was close for Lyon.

Lyon extended its lead over second-place Bordeaux to five points and has 73 points after 36 rounds. Bordeaux can trim Lyon’s lead to two points if it wins at Marseille on Sunday. There will then be two rounds left.

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)—Celtic rallied to beat Motherwell 2-1 in the Scottish Premier League, opening an eight-point lead over Rangers.

Rangers, which won a place in the UEFA Cup final on Thursday, still has four games to make up in the league. One of those is at Hibernian on Sunday and another is against Motherwell on Wednesday.

Giorgios Samaras scored the winner for Celtic in the 79th minute. Chris Porter had put Motherwell ahead in the 60th, but Scott McDonald tied it three minutes later.

BREDA, Netherlands (AP)—Stein Huysegems scored twice to lead FC Twente past 10-man NAC Breda 5-1 in Dutch league playoffs for a place in next season’s Champions League.

Breda’s Victor Sikora was ejected in the 57th minute for fouling goalkeeper Sander Boschker.

Twente, which will play Ajax or SC Heerenveen in the final, advanced 8-1 on total goals. Ajax goes into Monday’s second leg tie against Heerenveen with a 2-1 advantage.

The two-legged playoff final is May 11 and 18.

PSV, which won the Dutch league, already has secured one of the Netherlands’ two Champions League berths

Dell Hurries to Fix Faulty Laptop Keyboards

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Sat, 3 May 2008 08:30:00 -0700

Manchester United nears Premier title

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Sat, 3 May 2008 08:27:00 -0700

Ten-man Manchester United powered toward the Premier League title with a clinical 4-1 destruction of West Ham at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Victory at Wigan next Sunday will confirm Sir Alex Ferguson’s men as champions but the coronation may come even earlier as Chelsea now needs to get something - and almost certainly win - at Newcastle to fight on until the final day.

Not even the first-half dismissal of Nani could shake United from their stride as Cristiano Ronaldo’s double took his tally for the campaign to 40, quickly followed by a Carlos Tevez thunderbolt.

Michael Carrick wrapped up victory after the interval to keep United on course for the double and place all the pressure on Champions League final opponents Chelsea, who are now three points adrift, with a far worse goal difference and two matches to do something about it.

A veteran of nine successful title quests - and a few failures as well - Ferguson would have known what benefit an early goal would bring.

After seeing his team reach the Champions League final on Tuesday, then cheer his beloved Rangers into the UEFA Cup final two days later, Ferguson might have wondered if enough wishes had been granted for one week.

Yet, within three minutes the Red Devils were ahead. The familiar frame of Ronaldo would have been capable of causing some damage anyway as he collected Nani’s flick.

But Lucas Neill’s ill-timed slip merely allowed the double Footballer of the Year to charge into the box and unleash a shot which flicked off George McCartney and flew in.

There was no sense of nerves around the ground but any remaining apprehension was dispelled as United assumed total control and 20 minutes later they had a second.

In amassing 40 goals this season, Ronaldo has scored some amazing efforts.

His latest was not among them as Owen Hargreaves swung a left-footed cross to the far post which the entire Hammers defence failed to cut out.

It still needed scoring though and a quick swivel of the hips ensured the ball bounced past Robert Green.

Ronaldo has not been overshadowed very often this season but Tevez did exactly that as he picked up his young team-mate’s lay-off, then blasted a 30-yard rocket into the roof of Green’s net, the West Ham goalkeeper powerless to resist.

On this ground last season, the Hammers fans hailed Tevez a hero and they still revere the Argentinian now for keeping them up.

Yet instead of applause, the visiting contingent could only wonder what fate lay ahead as their team threatened to be submerged, even against a side lacking Wayne Rooney, whose hip problem has been reported in some quarters as a far more worrying hernia complaint.

The Hammers need not have worried. For, after Dean Ashton’s smart overhead kick completed a remarkable spell of three goals in six minutes, Nani lost his head.

Lucas Neill hardly reacted in the most calm manner after Nani had tried and failed to connect with an ambitious overhead kick but the Portugal winger had no excuse for responding the way he did by butting Neill and dismissal was automatic.

The red card threw unnecessary doubt over United’s charge towards the title, although they received assistance from West Ham’s woeful attempt to make the extra man count.

It was not lack of desire which kept them from toppling their hosts, who Hammers boss Alan Curbishley feels deserve the win the title, more a lack of ability.

Carrick was offered more room to run into than he could believe before firing home his second goal of the campaign, with Neill again providing the accidental deflection.

The unconnected arrival of Ryan Giggs and departure of Ronaldo were significant in that it took the Welshman to within one game of equalling Sir Bobby Charlton’s revised appearance record of 758.

It also suggested some element of doubt over Rooney returning as it offered United’s major attacking force a rest even though he remained on a hat-trick and apparently full of energy.

Ronaldo’s replacement, Darren Fletcher, struck a post with his precise shot, although by then it hardly mattered.

United thanked their supporters for a season of effort with a lap of the pitch at the end. In eight days’ time they could be celebrating for real.

Chelsea to face Manchester United

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Thu, 1 May 2008 09:15:00 -0700

LONDON (AP)—How perfect for Chelsea’s billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich that his club’s first Champions League final will be played in Moscow.

In the first European Cup final between two English clubs, beating Manchester United to win the title will make it even more special.

Abramovich wasn’t at Stamford Bridge to see his expensively assembled team beat Liverpool 3-2 in extra time to advance to the final on May 21, but United manager Alex Ferguson was.

United and Chelsea are also neck-and-neck in the Premier League. The Blues beat the Red Devils 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to draw level on points with United, which leads on goal difference with two games to go.

“An all-English final. I think everyone’s looking forward to it,” Chelsea captain John Terry said. “They have been very good in the league. Also we matched them the other week and managed to beat them here. All in all, they’re playing very well. I think we’re at the top of our game so in three weeks time it’s going to be a very tough game.”

Although it’s the first time two English teams have made it to the final, don’t look for an English coach.

The last Englishman to lead a team to a European Cup triumph was Liverpool’s Joe Fagan in 1984. That was at a time when English coaches did well in the competition with seven triumphs in eight seasons, including wins from Liverpool’s Bob Paisley (three), Nottingham Forest’s Brian Clough (two), Aston Villa’s Tony Barton and Fagan between 1977 and ‘84.

United has had the veteran Ferguson in charge for 22 years, and the Scot has led the Red Devils to nine Premier League triumphs and five FA Cups and is now chasing his second Champions League win to go with the one he won in 1999.

Avram Grant is the former coach of Israel who has led Chelsea to its first Champions League final after the man he replaced, Jose Mourinho, failed three times. Mourinho moved to the Blues in June 2004, a month after leading FC Porto to a triumph in the competition.

Although he won two league titles in a row, Chelsea’s first in half a century, Mourinho couldn’t capture a European success and the club replaced him in September.

The fact that two English teams are playing each other thousands of miles away in Moscow for a major prize is good timing.

In early February, the Premier League was lambasted by FIFA, leading club managers and fan groups for announcing plans to play domestic matches in South Korea, Japan, the United States and the Middle East and was forced into a rethink.

By contrast, there was even speculation that the clubs would apply to UEFA to move the Champions League final to Wembley if two English teams made it.

While the stadium in Moscow may be an unknown to both sets of players, they know each other’s style of play so well it shouldn’t matter.

Chelsea knows all about Cristiano Ronaldo’s dribbling and shooting skills and how to stop him from adding to his 38 league and cup goals this season. It also has to break open the solid defensive partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Because it played Chelsea on Saturday, United is aware of the dangers posed by Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Michael Ballack and the defensive strengths of Terry and Ricardo Carvalho.

Manchester United has a 65-41 record against Chelsea with 44 draws. But the last time they met in a final, Chelsea edged United 1-0 in last season’s FA Cup at Wembley.

Axiotron converts MacBook into tablet PC Modbook

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Thu, 1 May 2008 09:10:00 -0700

It is billed as the "one and only Tablet Mac." But the cleverly designed Modbook I've been testing is not from Apple. The portable, slate-style computer is engineered by an El Segundo, Calif., start-up called Axiotron.

Apple, at least for now, seems to be looking the other way.

Is Apple going soft? One of the reasons often given for Apple's success is that the company closely guards its own hardware and software. Apple CEO Steve Jobs pulled the plug on the Macintosh "clone" business several years ago.

Third-party computer makers are not permitted to load Mac OS X software on their machines, though not always for lack of trying. South Florida upstart Psystar recently started peddling a $400 desktop it says can run OS X Leopard.

It turns out Modbook is actually an Apple computer after all. Axiotron took an off-the-shelf MacBook notebook, deep-sixed the keyboard and display and slapped on its own converter kit. The result is a modified machine that, in lieu of a mouse and keyboard, lets you draw or write with a special pen.

This isn't exactly a mainstream computer, especially without that keyboard. Modbooks are expensive, too - systems start at $2,279, nearly a $1,200 premium compared with a basic MacBook. And they are available only in the USA through an online Mac dealer called Other World Computing.

For much of this decade, Microsoft has been the one - via its Windows-based Tablet PCs - trying to convince the public that the pen is sometimes mightier than the keyboard.

But Tablet PCs (generally not cheap and manufactured by most of the usual hardware suspects) haven't exactly made a smash. Research firm IDC says only about 3.2 million tablet computers shipped worldwide in 2007, representing less than 3% of all portable computers shipped. IDC expects just over 7% by 2011.

So Axiotron's German-born co-founder and CEO, Andreas Haas, a former Apple employee, figures Apple has been reluctant to pour its own resources into a Mac tablet.

In building Modbook - because he wanted a Mac tablet - Haas insists he's playing "within the rules." Axiotron has said Modbook was "authorized" by Apple through the obscure Proprietary Solution Provider program, a point hammered home in Axiotron's promotional materials.

Although Apple won't comment directly, Axiotron does not appear to have its complete blessing. There's no Apple warranty for Modbook. You must get it serviced (under its own one-year warranty) through an Axiotron authorized dealer, not in Apple Stores.

A closer look at Modbook

The dramatic makeover that turns a MacBook into a Modbook eliminates the keyboard and MacBook screen. Post-surgery, the screen is replaced by an LCD digitizer display and pen from a company called Wacom, which also makes external devices that add tablet capabilities to regular Apple machines.

It's nicely designed, and the scratch-resistant machine has the look and feel of an Apple pedigree. My test unit actually arrived in a regular MacBook box.

Here's how a MacBook becomes a Modbook:

•Design. Axiotron makes it almost sound simple. You take a MacBook, jettison the display panel, track-pad and keyboard, and swap in Axiotron's conversion kit, featuring a digitized LCD screen that lets you draw and write with the special Wacom pen.

It all looks seamless. Axiotron says it didn't solder, hack or tamper with the MacBook's innards. Components plug into existing connectors and screw holes.

The result: You have access to regular MacBook ports on the left side - including two USBs, FireWire, ethernet and so-called MagSafe power connector. And you can still use the integrated CD/DVD burner on the right, though without a keyboard, you'll have to tap a screen icon with the Wacom pen to eject a disk. Wi-Fi behaved normally.

Modbook's top shell is crafted from a magnesium alloy and protected by metal plating. All this adds some heft. It weighs about 5.5 pounds; MacBooks weigh 5.

Some Windows Tablets are convertible models. They twist and/or fold (sometimes awkwardly) to turn a conventional notebook into a pen-based slate, and vice versa.

Modbook is all slab, all the time - a major disadvantage to anyone who needs to pound away at a traditional keyboard. And you can't alter the screen orientation from portrait to landscape, as you can with Tablet PCs; Modbook is always in landscape.

There is an onscreen virtual keyboard that is a barely adequate replacement for the physical keyboard. Using the Wacom pen, I tapped out my home network password and various Web addresses. Anything more is a hassle.

Of course, you can connect a keyboard and mouse, via USB or wirelessly with Bluetooth. But conventional computing isn't what Modbook is all about.

Basic system configurations remain the same as whichever MacBook has been modified - mine had a 2.2-gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1 gigabyte of RAM and a 120-GB hard drive. The 13.3-inch widescreen display is the same size as well; it wasn't the brightest outdoors. One minor adjustment: The integrated iSight video camera on Modbook has been mounted so it tilts slightly downward, to better frame your mug.

The underlying software, including OS X Leopard, is essentially unchanged. Axiotron does add a driver for the pen interface.

•Putting it to work. My initial instinct was to press my fingers against the display as if it were a touch-screen. It's not. Modbook works only with the supplied pen. But that means you can rest your hands on the screen while drawing. The pressure-sensitive pen has two programmable side buttons and a digital eraser. It doesn't require a battery.

I'm no artist, but I had fun scribbling away in Corel Painter X. The system is compatible with Apple's Inkwell handwriting-recognition technology, a remnant from its long-ago ill-fated Newton PDA. Handwriting recognition is built into Leopard, but you'd need a third-party device (from the likes of Wacom) to convert your jottings into text.

I had so-so results testing handwriting recognition on Modbook inside a program called InkBook. "Mary had a little lamb" became "Mary had a liHK lans" It might have had more to do with my lousy penmanship.

The machine has GPS, which I used with Google Earth to locate nearby pizza joints. But there aren't a lot of practical uses for the technology. You can easily turn GPS off to spare the battery, which seems to deliver three hours or so.

Modbook is a fine, if pricey, tool for artsy types who need to draw on screen without adding excess hardware. It's just not a mainstream computer.

Microsoft Messenger 7 brings Bonjour support, corporate AV features

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:27:00 -0700

Microsoft's Mac Business Unit (BU) has announced the release of Messenger for Mac 7, its instant messaging client. Version 7 is a free download, available from the Mac BU's website.

Messenger 7 lets users communicate with buddies on the Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger services, but not those with .Mac accounts or those on the popular AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) service. Messenger 7 adds a number of new features for personal users, including searching through contacts by name or e-mail address, the ability to assign nicknames to your friends, and support for OS X's Bonjour.

However, most of Messenger 7's improvements come in the realm of corporate communications. For those users in an organization running Exchange server and Microsoft Communicator, the biggest addition to the program is support for video and audio chats, including multi-party conference calls. Such functionality is not yet available for personal users, but the Mac BU is continuing to work with the Windows Live team to implement it.

In addition, corporate users can now find contacts via their organization's Global Address List (GAL) and display a personal status message, including a "Do Not Disturb" status. The program also features improved online status integration with Office Communicator 2007.

Messenger 7 requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later and a Windows Live ID for personal accounts, or a Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 account for corporate accounts.

Asus: Eee PC Shipments to Soar in Second Quarter

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:23:00 -0700

Asustek Computer on Wednesday forecast it will nearly double shipments of the popular Eee PC low-cost laptop in the second quarter, compared to the first.

Eee PC shipments will rise to between 1.2 million to 1.3 million units in the three months ending June 30, Asustek said in presentation materials for its first quarter investors' conference. The company shipped 700,000 Eee PCs in the first quarter.

The company also expects to continue releasing new Eee PC models aimed at different user groups

The original Eee PCs went on sale for prices as low as NT$7000 (US$230) for a stripped down version running a Linux OS late last year. The newest version, the Eee PC 900, has a larger 8.9-inch screen and other improvements, and launched in Taiwan earlier this month for NT$15,988. The original Eee PC 701 sports a 7-inch screen. Both devices weigh less than a kilogram.

New versions of the Eee PC could sport more functions and better specifications, including larger screen sizes, executives have said. The company hopes to capitalize on the popularity of the device.

Shipments of the Eee PC have ramped up so fast that they could challenge the company's other laptop PC products. Asustek predicts it will sell between 1.3 million and 1.4 million notebook PCs during the second quarter, up from 1.3 million in the first quarter.

The company's Eee PC shipment target for this year is 5 million units.

Asustek's Eee PC is a low-cost laptop originally designed for people in developing nations, particularly kids. The device, which can access the Internet wirelessly through built-in Wi-Fi or an add-on HSDPA card has gained popularity for its efficient design and low price.

The device will likely face a lot more competition in the future. Several companies, including Acer, Micro-Star International, Elitegroup Computer Systems and Giga-byte Technology have all revealed plans to market a low-cost laptop similar to the Eee PC.

Mozilla: Fennec to Revolutionize Mobile Browsing

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:48:00 -0700

Fennec, the mobile version of the Firefox browser, will simplify and enhance Web browsing on cell phones and usher in an era of intense developer innovation, the chairman of the Mozilla Foundation and of Mozillla Corp. said Thursday.

Access to data, sites and applications on the Internet shouldn't be limited by the type of device being used, and Fennec will make that possible, said Mitchell Baker during a keynote speech at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco.

"The key to the Internet should be the same. The core is information: What can I get to and what can I do with it?" she said.

While technical constraints affect mobile browsing, psychological constraints affect the experience on the PC, caused by usage habits formed over decades, Baker said.

She'd rather have technical barriers to overcome than psychological ones, so she's hopeful for what Fennec can accomplish.

"Because it's a new area, mental constraints of what we can do... are much less," she said. "Mental constraints are often the hardest to get past."

Fennec will provide a totally open development platform, making Firefox the platform that is most likely to lead to the vision of full access to the Web via mobile devices, she said.

While Fennec is still at a very early stage, Baker encouraged developers in the audience to join the effort, which will generate the type of intense innovation that has been seen in the Web 2.0 space, she said.

Nintendo bucks tradition, says no price cuts for Wii

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:39:00 -0700

TOKYO - Nintendo does not plan to cut prices of its popular Wii gaming console or DS handheld game system anytime soon, the company's president said Friday.

While prices for hardware is usually reduced over time, that could leave gamers who bought early feeling ripped off, Satoru Iwata said a day after the company reported record annual profits.

"I don't think that model is correct," Iwata said, despite signs that sales of the DS may be tapering off.

The Wii retails for about $250 in the U.S. and 25,000 yen in Japan, unchanged since its launch in November 2006. In contrast, Sony has slashed the price of its 20-gigabyte PlayStation 3 twice so far to boost demand.

Nintendo Co. expects to sell 28.0 million DS units this year through March 2009, down from 30.3 million last year.

Iwata said that while sales in Japan have slowed, the DS maintains strong momentum in the United States and Europe, with considerable room for growth. The DS Lite sells for 16,800 yen in Japan and $129.99 in the U.S.

Nintendo's main focus is to keep gamers playing by continually offering new software, services and accessories. He hinted that there were new projects in the pipeline, but did not elaborate.

"Our biggest fear is for people who have bought the DS to shut it away in a closet," Iwata said. "We want people to use it in their everyday lives."

Still, the falloff in DS sales is a main reason why the company tempered its growth expectations this year after a nearly 48 percent surge in net profit last fiscal year to $2.5 billion and a 73 percent gain in global revenue to $16.2 billion.

"The speed last year was beyond our expectations," Iwata said.

For this fiscal year, Nintendo projects a 26.3 percent rise in net profit and just a 7.6 percent increase in sales. It pegs a modest 8.8 percent climb in operating profit.

Like all Japanese exporters, Nintendo is wrestling with a stronger yen that threatens to erode the value of overseas sales, which accounted for 81 percent of total revenue last year.

Nintendo's main driver of growth this year, then, looks to be the Wii — a runaway hit that has outsold Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 since its release in November 2006.

With easy-to-play games and motion-detecting controllers, the Wii has done well by attracting new and casual gamers, including women and senior citizens.

Consumers around the world have snapped up nearly 24.5 million of the consoles so far, and Nintendo says it expects to sell 25 million units this year, even with a gloomy outlook for the global economy.

"Historically, the video game business hasn't been influenced by economic swings," Iwata said, adding that in tight economic times, people often opt to stay home and play video games rather go out and spend money.

Nintendo will release several new games this spring, including a racing game called the Mario Kart Wii. The Wii Fit exercise game, which has sold well in Japan, will also make its debut soon in the U.S. and Europe.

Prince William's Bumpy Landing

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:55:00 -0700

It's the stuff of fantasy: a charming prince arrives at his girlfriend's rural English estate, swooping in on his trusty steed. But when Prince William flew a Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter to Kate Middleton's garden earlier this month, he should have known that his romantic gesture wouldn't lead to a fairytale ending. Rather than emerging as the knight in shining armor, William has drawn criticism for his personal use of military craft and reopened a controversy in Britain about his and his brother's privileged role in the armed forces during a time of war.

The trip in question was a 16-mile sortie from a Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Hampshire, southern England to a field next to Middleton's house in the county of Berkshire. The Ministry of Defense says the trip was part of a training mission designed to help teach the Prince, who is on a brief detachment to the air force from the army, to fly in combat situations. The Chinook, a $20 million twin-rotor helicopter, has been a mainstay for combat troop transport since the Vietnam War.

But it is up for debate just how official William's training program has been. In a separate trip on April 11, the Prince piloted a Chinook to his cousin's bachelor party on the Isle of Wight in southern England. On that trip, he stopped off at Woolwich Barracks in London to pick up his brother, Prince Harry, who has been stationed there since returning in late February from a 10-week army deployment in Afghanistan's embattled Helman Province.

Prince William, a second lieutenant in the British Army, has been on a four-month, abbreviated training mission with the RAF. His training culminated in an April 11 ceremony in which he was "awarded his wings" - that is, officially made a pilot - amid fanfare and press attention. But after news surfaced of William's splashy arrival at his girlfriend's estate, the Ministry of Defense was forced to issue a release defending the sortie as a legitimate exercise. Unusually, it gave details of the mission, saying that William did not exit the Chinook at the Middleton property, but simply practiced landings and take-offs.

The Ministry of Defense has also said that the flight to the Isle of Wight, via London, gave William exposure to different flying conditions. But that flight, which William and Harry used to join Peter Phillips, son of Princess Anne, for his bachelor party, took place after William had already earned his wings, raising questions about why it was cleared as a training mission.

Several British papers have reported that the head of the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, is furious and has demanded a "line-by-line" explanation of what happened on these trips and who authorized them. The RAF has long complained about a shortage of Chinook helicopters in Afghanistan. For years officials at NATO have been exhorting its member states to pony up more transport helicopters for that mission, with limited success.

Opposition politicians in the British House of Commons on Monday used news of the trips to highlight again what has become a recurring attack against the incumbent Labour government: that it has failed to provide adequate equipment and support to serving soldiers.

Nick Harvey, defense spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, told the Daily Mail newspaper: "[William's trips] are going to leave a lot of people wondering where the priority lies if very serious helicopters are being made available for this sort of thing at a time when they are in such extreme need."

The controversy also touches on an ongoing debate over Britain's warrior princes. Prince William, and to a lesser extent his brother Harry, has been the country's cherished son since the premature death of his mother, Princess Diana. The struggle for the military has been to harness the image of the well-favored child - the codename of William's flight training was "Golden Kestral" - while also protecting him from the prospect of sudden death in a combat zone. When news broke that Prince Harry had been serving in the dangerous Helmand province, many British papers lionized his bravery and commended the military for treating him as "one of the lads." But others criticized the Ministry of Defense for allowing Harry to be put in harm's way.

William's cushy flight training has drawn criticism, but so would his being deployed to a combat zone - a scant prospect after Harry's experience. Further proof, perhaps, that while it has its undeniable perks, being a British royal is no job for the faint-hearted. View this article on Time.com

James scores 30!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:50:00 -0700

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ extreme makeover is complete.

For more than two months since a colossal trade dismantled the defending Eastern Conference champions, Cleveland has waited for the game where its team of mixed parts and new faces finally molded into a legitimate NBA title contender.

It happened.

Maybe Gilbert Arenas was talking about some other Cavaliers a few weeks back. The team he faced Monday night doesn’t look so beatable.

LeBron James scored 30 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16, and the Cavs played their best game since the Feb. 21 megatrade, blowing out the Washington Wizards 116-86 to take a 2-0 lead in an opening-round playoff series oozing with bad blood.

The 30-point margin of victory was the largest in Cleveland’s 112-game postseason history, and the Cavaliers’ performance was perhaps their finest 48 minutes since November.

“We are playing the champs,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. “I know they changed their team. But they still have the same coaching staff, the monster player and he’s taking over the series.”

James was scary all right.

He scored 14 points in the third quarter when the Cavs opened a 25-point lead over the Wizards, whose defensive scheme coming into their third series in as many years with Cleveland was to slow the superstar by roughing him up with hard, clean fouls.

It may be time for Plan B.

The Wizards hardly bothered James, who finished with 12 assists and nine rebounds, barely missing his third career postseason triple-double. James went to the bench with 6:12 left. At that point, the Cavaliers were leading by 24 points and coach Mike Brown inserted seldom-used reserves Dwayne Jones and Damon Jones.

With his team up by 15 at halftime, Brown began reminding his team about the importance of staying aggressive. He only got in a few words.

“I didn’t say anything,” Brown said. “LeBron James did. LeBron started talking, I just left and the guys just followed his lead.”

Wally Szczerbiak added 15 points for the Cavs, who have struggled with injuries and inconsistency since GM Danny Ferry dealt half his roster at the trading deadline. With Cleveland staggering, Arenas called out the Cavs, saying “I think everybody wants Cleveland in that first round” and “We don’t think they can beat us in the playoffs three years straight.”

Those comments followed Wizards forward DeShawn Stevenson calling James “overrated.”

Washington is eating its words.

The Wizards have lost eight straight playoff games to Cleveland, and they’ll have to figure out something before Thursday night’s Game 3 in Washington or they’ll be heading off on summer vacation, again courtesy of the Cavs.

Arenas went 2-for-10 from the field and Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison were both 4-of-13 as the Wizards’ Big Three combined for 28 points. The trio spent much of the fourth quarter sitting and thinking about what happened and the task ahead.

“For us to come out undisciplined and unfocused was real disappointing,” Jamison said.

Despite all the trash talk, Jamison insists the Wizards weren’t taking the Cavs lightly.

“We didn’t underestimate anybody,” he said. “We know this is a very special team. They didn’t play well in the last month of the regular season, but just like any veteran team, when the playoffs get started you’re going to elevate your game.

“Let’s be honest. Some guys talked. It’s over with. We know this team is capable of not only going past the first round but going past that.”

James withstood more rough treatment by the Wizards.

In the third quarter, Washington center Brendan Haywood was ejected for a flagrant foul on James. Haywood didn’t make much of an effort to go for the ball and shoved James hard with both hands as he drove and the All-Star went flying out of bounds.

“It was scary,” said James, who compared it to when he got undercut as a high school junior and broke his wrist. “I knew it was going to be a tough fall. I bounced up, though.”

Haywood, who had an altercation with James in Game 1, could face further discipline for the intentional foul. He didn’t speak to the media and was escorted from Quicken Loans Arena by a security guard.

James didn’t have an opinion on whether Haywood should be suspended.

“It was not a basketball play in any shape or form,” he said.

It was hardly the only physical one.

In the first half, Arenas was called for a technical foul and Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao was given a flagrant foul after hitting Washington’s Andray Blatche in the face.

The Wizards may be acting like bullies, but they insist they don’t want to do anything more than make James work harder.

“There’s a difference between taking hard fouls and trying to hurt somebody,” Washington’s Antonio Daniels said. “No one in this locker room or that locker room fouls anybody with the intention of hurting him. That’s not the way the NBA is. That’s not the way it’s played. We all get knocked to the floor. That’s playoff basketball. When you drive, you should expect to get hit.”

The Wizards’ problem in Game 1 was they missed shots the down stretch with a chance to win. They were cold again, but this time it had a lot to do with Cleveland’s defense. Washington shot 38 percent from the field, missed 11 free throws and was outrebounded 49-34 while being outscored 80-50 over the final 30 minutes.

Sony Delays PlayStation Home Again

noreply@blogger.com (Interizzti) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:46:00 -0700

The delayed PlayStation Home community online service for the PlayStation 3 console is to be delayed again, Sony Computer Entertainment said Tuesday.

The service was first announced in July last year and promised to provide users with the ability to create their own avatars and participate in a real-time virtual world, something like a cross between the Mii avatars on Nintendo's Wii and the Second Life community. At the time Sony said it would be available globally in the "fall" of 2007 but that was delayed until "spring" 2008 at the Tokyo Game Show.

Now Sony says it will allow more users to join a closed beta test but doesn't plan to open up the service until the "fall" of this year, and then only as an open beta test.

"We understand that we are asking PS3 and prospective PS3 users to wait a bit longer, but we have come to the conclusion that we need more time to refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience than what it is today," said Kazuo Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, in a statement.

There are no details on when PlayStation Home might launch as a full service.