ANNAI-ILLAM: 7/19/09

Friday, July 24, 2009

Sangakkara helps Sri Lanka to a draw

Kumar Sangakkara lifts the series trophy, Sri Lanka v Pakistan, 3rd Test, Colombo, 5th day, July 24, 2009

Kumar Sangakkara remorselessly ground the bowling into the SSC dust © AFP

In the end, neither team wanted it badly enough. Sri Lanka couldn't quite summon up the courage for one final dash, and Pakistan spent much of the afternoon merely going through the motions. When play was called off with the 15 mandatory overs to be bowled, Sri Lanka were 101 short of the 492-run target, and Pakistan had toiled all day for just one wicket. Kumar Sangakkara's 19th Test century was the story of the day, but even his performance was overshadowed by an utterly placid pitch. After 21 wickets fell in the opening two days, the bowlers on both sides could manage just 12 in the next nine sessions.

When Angelo Mathews struck a couple of boundaries soon after reaching his half-century after tea, there was the prospect of a Twenty20-like thrash in the final hour, but ultimately Sri Lanka decided to settle for the 2-0 series win.

With Sri Lanka resuming from their overnight 183 for 3, Pakistan would have fancied their chances of pulling off a consolation victory. But with Sangakkara remorselessly grinding the bowling into the SSC dust, and Thilan Samaraweera contributing a classy 73 to a partnership of 122, Younis Khan was left to forlornly shuffle a tiring bowling pack.

As he showed in Hobart not so long ago, Sangakkara is capable of dazzling counter-attacks in pressure situations. This, on a day when survival rat

With Mathews showing only brief glimpses of his shotmaking potential, the run-rate slowed quite a bit after Samaraweera's dismissal soon after lunch. He had been afflicted with cramp, and was then struck a glancing blow on the helmet by Mohammad Aamer before a doosra from Saeed Ajmal was nicked behind.

Apart from a brain-fade where he nearly handled the ball after digging out a yorker from Younis, Samaraweera had constantly challenged the bowlers, never allowing them to settle into a rhythm. Danish Kaneria, the scourge of Sri Lanka's first innings, was attacked and only Ajmal managed to exercise any real control.

Younis was also badly let down by Umar Gul, who struggled with no-balls and served up dross with the second new-ball. Each mistake was pounced on by Samaraweera, whose classical drives invoked another age. Pakistan still had a slight edge, but with no Flintoff-like talisman to turn to, Younis' brow became increasingly furrowed as the afternoon wore on. Sangakkara's smile only grew wider.

Microsoft to let users pick browser

(AP) BRUSSELS - Microsoft Corp. will offer computer users a choice of rival Web browsers to ward off new European Union antitrust fines, EU regulators and Microsoft said Friday.

Microsoft said its proposal, if accepted by the European Commission, would "fully address" antitrust worries over its browser and "would mark a big step forward in addressing a decade of legal issues."

The EU has charged the company with monopoly abuse for tying the Internet Explorer browser to the Windows operating system installed on most of the world’s desktop computers.

It welcomed Microsoft’s suggestions and said it will evaluate the proposal and seek input from other browser makers and computer companies before making a decision. If approved, the proposal could be legally binding for five years.

On the browser case, Microsoft is suggesting that users of Windows XP, Vista or its latest release Windows 7 who have Internet Explorer set as the default browser would see a Web page prompting them to pick from five of the most popular browsers in Europe. Existing Windows users would get the ballot screen from a software update.

Microsoft said the list of browsers would be reviewed twice a year based on usage data for the previous six months. Microsoft’s browser is the most widely used worldwide, but Mozilla Corp.’s Firefox is gaining in popularity.

Mozilla and Google Inc. _ which recently released a browser, Chrome _ are supporting the case against Microsoft.

Windows would still include Internet Explorer, but users would be able to disable it. Computer manufacturers could also choose to install other browsers, set them as default and disable Internet Explorer.

The company had said in June that it would remove its browser from Windows entirely to avoid antitrust problems. Instead, it planned to give Internet Explorer away as a download or on a disc. EU regulators slammed the idea, saying the 5 percent of people who buy Windows off the shelf wouldn’t have a real choice of browsers. Most people buy the software pre-installed on a computer assembled by manufacturers such as Dell Inc. or Hewlett-Packard Co.

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, said the pressure is now on EU regulators to approve its proposal before Windows 7 goes on sale on Oct. 22 or Microsoft would supply the browserless Windows 7 "E" version.

The ballot screen that Microsoft is proposing is close to what regulators called for in January when they asked Microsoft to offer several browsers on Windows. Under that proposal, PC companies would have been responsible for building the browser-choosing technology. That could have conflicted with existing deals in which browser and Web search companies pay to have their products set as the default on new PCs.

Under Microsoft’s plan, the software maker would handle the technology.

The original ballot-screen proposal was also backed by Norwegian mobile Internet browser maker Opera Software ASA, which triggered the EU antitrust case by complaining that Microsoft was unfairly using its power as the dominant supplier of operating system software to squeeze out rivals.

Opera lawyer Thomas Vinje welcomed Microsoft’s announcement Friday but said "the devil is in the detail" on how far it would go to calm antitrust fears.

Offering the ballot screen to existing Windows users "will change the world," he said, because it would encourage developers to make cross-platform software based on Web standards instead of tailoring their work to Microsoft software.

Microsoft has said it fully complies with existing Web standards.

Regulators will also examine a new offer by Microsoft to guarantee that the technical information it shares with developers who make Windows-compatible programs is accurate and complete. The information-sharing and warranty proposal aims to settle a lengthy antitrust row that has racked up nearly euro1.7 million ($2.42 million) in EU fines for Microsoft.

Smith said this involves "significant change by Microsoft" and was based on long talks with EU regulators.

"We believe that if ultimately accepted, this proposal will fully address the European competition law issues relating to the inclusion of Internet Explorer in Windows and interoperability with our high-volume products," he said.

___

AP Technology Writer Jessica Mintz contributed to this report from Seattle.

___

On The Net:

Microsoft proposal

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/jul09/07-24statement.mspx

Astronauts install fresh batteries on spacewalk 4

(AP) CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronauts outfitted the international space station with fresh batteries in an extra-long spacewalk Friday, moving slowly and even loitering at times to avoid a repeat of the suit trouble that cut short the previous outing.

Despite their dawdling pace, Christopher Cassidy and Thomas Marshburn managed to install all four new batteries.

For the second spacewalk in a row, Cassidy ended up with rising carbon dioxide levels in his suit. But the problem did not crop up until the battery work was complete, toward the end of what turned out to be a seven-hour, 12-minute spacewalk.

Before the spacewalk, Mission Control had requested Cassidy and Marshburn to take their time heading out to the far end of the space station, where the critical battery changes awaited them.

It was difficult dealing with all the stiff bolts, and the men paced themselves accordingly as they pulled out 9-year-old batteries and plugged in new ones.

The last time Cassidy went out, on Wednesday, he was so gung-ho and moved so fast that the air-cleansing canister in his suit could not keep up. That resulted in rising carbon dioxide levels that forced an early end to the spacewalk.

The increased levels noted Friday were nothing like the other day, said Kieth Johnson, the lead spacewalk officer in Mission Control.

Johnson attributes Cassidy’s hard-charging ways to his military training _ he’s a former Navy SEAL.

"Sending him to do a task, it’s going to get done. He likes to get at it and get going and keep busy the entire time," Johnson told reporters. He will be reminded again to "keep his pace steady" when he goes back out Monday for the fifth and final spacewalk of shuttle Endeavour’s visit.

Despite Cassidy’s effort to stay relaxed Friday, his metabolic rate was a little high at times and Mission Control urged him to take it easy. Marshburn, in fact, took on some extra chores early on to give his partner a break.

Six-and-a-half hours into the spacewalk, Mission Control reported that carbon dioxide levels were rising slightly in Cassidy’s suit. The astronauts were advised to start wrapping everything up.

"OK, guys, come back nice and steady," Timothy Kopra called from inside the shuttle-station complex. "Nice and slow," one of the spacewalkers repeated to himself as he traversed the 150 feet from the work site to the hatch. They said they were both a little tired.

"And, guys, the boss says that you’ve earned a day off tomorrow," Kopra said. Their reply: "Wow!"

Two of the four new batteries assigned to Cassidy and Marshburn should have been installed Wednesday. Only two fresh batteries were hooked up during that shortened spacewalk.

The extra work pushed the length of Friday’s spacewalk past the usual 6 1/2 hours.

The six new batteries _ 3-foot-square bundles weighing about 370 pounds each _ are designed to store power collected by the solar wings on the far left end of the space station. Each one costs $3.6 million.

The old batteries will be returned to Earth aboard Endeavour at the end of next week.

Cassidy _ an explosives and combat expert who went into Afghanistan two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks _ said in a series of TV interviews Thursday that he experienced no symptoms of carbon dioxide buildup and was never worried.

Back at the launch site, meanwhile, NASA conducted more testing on the fuel tank that will be used for Discovery’s launch at the end of August. Shuttle managers want to be absolutely certain that the foam insulation on the central area of the tank is attached properly.

During Endeavour’s liftoff on July 15, an unusually large amount of foam broke off and a few pieces struck the shuttle, causing minor damage.

___

On the Net:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission(underscore)pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Sprouts: A Great Source of Vitamins, Minerals, and Pathogens

Eating alfalfa sprouts, my mother used to say, was like eating hair. Obviously, she wasn’t a huge fan of the spindly little legume shoots but many people are, and with good reason. Sprouts, particularly alfalfa sprouts, are full of vitamins and other nutrients; health food enthusiasts love them, with one web site even suggesting “Perhaps God is making this highly nutritive food easily available to us?”

They are, along with other types of sprouts, increasingly a source of E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella contamination (as well as several other notable pathogens). Jus Sprouts in a salad

t this past year, there have been at least three significant sprout-related outbreaks of which I am aware. So, what’s the problem?

For sprouts to grow successfully, they require a warm, humid environment. As it happens, so do most pathogens (The Centers for Disease Control describe it most officiously: “…sprouts pose a special risk because the sprouting process is a potent bacterial amplification step that occurs shortly before marketing and consumption”). Complicating the matter further is that the sprouting process actually begins well before the final product even enters the picture. Seeds destined for sprouting must be grown, harvested, processed, and shipped. Contamination with any number of pathogens can occur anywhere along the way. Once the contaminated product ends up at the sprout farm, they’re placed into those ideal pathogen nurturing conditions and 72 hours later – voila! – you’ve got yourself a pathogen-rich source of Vitamin K and calcium (I did say sprouts were nutritious).

There are ways to combat the problem, of course, but they don’t appear to be full-proof. The CDC suggested in 1996 that growers use a chlorine solution to eliminate pathogens but chlorine and organic aren’t exactly compatible. A multi-state outbreak last April occurred despite using such a method. Irradiation has also been shown to virtually eliminate any threats of contamination, but people tend to be suspicious about irradiating anything, so that’s not much of an option, either. Heating the seeds before growing is also effective but tends to destroy the seeds’ ability to germinate which sort of undermines the whole sprout concept all together. Growers, then, rely on continual testing and that generally works, except when it doesn’t.

Adding to the melee, the Food and Drug Administration two months ago noted “There is no step in the production of raw sprouts such as cooking or pasteurization to reduce or eliminate pathogens before consumption. In addition, many sprout producers are unaware that raw sprouts have been the vehicle for foodborne illness.”

Sprouts, those tiny little, simple plants are enormously more complex than they appear. Of course, no amount of chlorine, irradiation, or testing can change the fact they’re like eating hair.

10 tips for reinventing your home

You may not be able to sell your home at a big profit and buy the house you’ve always wanted, but you can make the house you’re in more useful and enjoyable.

Now that homeowners no longer obsess about how much their homes have increased in value in the past week, they're reacquainting themselves with the joys of homeownership from a new, healthier perspective.

Recognizing that larger is not necessarily better and that less can actually be more, many homeowners are looking for ways to make the homes they're in more useful, comfortable and enjoyable.

Here are 10 tips that may help you make the house you're in your dream home:

1. Show your true colors. "Paint is the cheapest and most powerful thing you can do to put your personal stamp on a home," says Barbara Corcoran, a New York City real-estate agent and NBC's "Today" show real-estate expert. "Paint your home the colors you enjoy living with, the colors you feel happiest within."

2. Ditch some stuff. "You probably have more stuff than you need. Get rid of some of it," says James Gauer, author of "The New American Dream: Living Well in Small Homes."

3. Start simple. Find the simplest remodeling solution within your home's existing footprint before considering expanding its size, says Marc Vassallo, co-author of "Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live."

4. Dine in a booth. "I've yet to see a small living/dining room where a free-floating dining table and chairs really works," Gauer says. "A dining banquette against the wall looks and feels luxurious and comfortable while taking up considerably less space."

5. Check out books. "Put a wall of books in any room and it's cozy and inviting," Corcoran says.

MSN Lifestyle: Easy ways to add color to your home

6. Consolidate doorways. "Attempt to locate all the doorways to the kitchen on one side of the room and eliminate any that are not absolutely necessary," Vassallo says. "This leaves the rest of the kitchen for continuous countertop and appliance arrangement while limiting the flow of foot traffic through the work area."

7. Plan your furniture first. "Never buy furniture without first laying out a furniture plan," Gauer says. "Chances are, that sofa you're eyeing is too big and will just make your living room feel crowded."

8. Let there be light. "The right lighting can make a heck of an improvement," Corcoran says. "Throw in task lighting to make tasks easier, mood light to make a room sexier. And don't forget dimmers! I can't imagine lighting without them."

9. Add a column. "Create a more open floor plan by removing a wall and replacing it with a new support beam and columns," Vassallo says. "Columns allow for differentiation of places with minimal view obstruction."

10. Dare to be modest. "Modesty requires us to arrange our homes first and foremost to suit the real needs of our private lives with no thought to public display, to eschew the showy and unnecessary and embrace the appropriate and suitable," Gauer says.

News 10NBC launches mobile website to bring latest news right to your cell phone

News 10NBC has a new way for you to stay informed and connected. We have launched our new mobile website www.whec.com, which allows you to quickly access the latest breaking news and weather forecasts right from your cell phone.

You can use any phone that links to the internet such as a Palm Pilot, Blackberry or iPhone. Just type in whec.com in the browser and it automatically connects you to our new mobile website.

Our mobile site loads faster than a traditional website and only gives you what you need such as news, breaking news and weather, including current radar.

Now you can stay connected wherever you are, whenever you need to know what's going on. You can even follow your favorite teams or search local movie theaters for show times. There's also a way to find cheap gas prices and get the latest lottery numbers.

So all you have to do is pull up the browser on your internet-ready cell phone, and log on to whec.com that's coverage you can count on anywhere, anytime.

Nikon Coolpix S51c - digital camera, 8.1MP, 3x Optical Zoom, 4x ...

Make camera shake a thing of the past. Incorporating highly effective optical VR image stabilization into its slim, compact dimensions, the COOLPIX S51c produces sharper, more satisfactory shots. What's more, high sensitivity up to ISO 1600 creates new opportunities to take sharper, more natural looking photos in lower lighting conditions.A huge, bright LCD monitor makes it a cinch to compose shots and play them back anywhere. Thanks to its wide 160-degree viewing angle, it's easy for everyone to gather round and see. And with the advantage of an anti-reflection coating, it allows images to be seen clearly even in direct sunlight.Send your shots through thin air. Built-in Wi-Fi provides access to Nikon's exciting new my Picturetown service, comprising Picture Mail that, without connecting to a computer, can trigger an email notification to friends when new pictures are available to download and view, and Picture Bank that can automatically upload all images to the Nikon safe, secure server. Only available from Nikon, my Picturetown make it easy to share the moment with friends around the world.