Women get massages with 'happy endings' too

'Massage parlours' and even barbers have long offered men sexual stimulation. Now, word is, women are after the extras

Kate Spicer

Tropicana is an expensive beach club on Cala Jondal in Ibiza. The loungers have crisp cotton covers, the juices are freshly squeezed and the staff wear natty, tennis club-style whites. There are massage therapists working under the trees. A socialite tells me about the last time she visited: “My friend came over rather flushed and asked to borrow money so she could give the massage guy a bigger tip.” Because allegedly, after asking if it was okay to work on the whole of her chest, the therapist had gone on to expertly bring the lucky girl to orgasm.

There has long been a tradition of the gentleman’s “happy ending”. Back when Indian barbers were eunuchs, a chap could get a shave, a haircut and, afterwards, fellatio. In the Far East today, prostitution still takes place around “barber shops”, much as a certain breed of western “private sauna” or “massage parlour” rarely harbours highly trained Swedish masseurs. But this is not to say that the odd proper therapist doesn’t offer soothing extras, too.

A few years ago, on his honeymoon, Kevin Costner was accused of exposing himself to his masseuse at the Old Course Hotel Spa at St Andrews, and then proceeding to ensure that his “ending” was a self-induced “happy” one. Costner has always denied the allegation, but it was too late: the happy ending had gone mainstream.

For a man to be asked, “You want everything?” is not — in certain geographical locations or clearly signposted establishments — that unusual. For women, though, it has formerly existed as a disquieting crossing of personal boundaries. From posh gyms in London to misadventures in Indian spas, many women have tales of male therapists making them feel uncomfortable. Friends sometimes tell of dating their masseurs, or, in the case of one, getting off with him then and there in the treatment room. So far, so Samantha Jones.

Yet with our burgeoning love of spa culture, is it reasonable to suppose the odd naughty or, perhaps, “progressive” massage therapist might slip through the net to please a certain type of upmarket lady?

Recently, there has been chatter in the New York press about just such shenanigans in upscale Miami hotels and New York bathhouses: the female “happy ending” is out there. Grant Stoddard, the author of Working Stiff: The Misadventures of an Accidental Sexpert, tells a story that illustrates the Jackanory finish is not confined to men, and possibly on the increase. “An ex went for a regular massage. It was her first time at this establishment, and the receptionist suggested that she get her massage from George. She called me two hours later to ask me if it was okay that a Chinese guy in scrubs had brought her to orgasm six times. I was more impressed than anything. My girlfriend recommended George to several friends, most of whom went to the massage parlour. George, they were told, had been let go, and nobody hinted at ‘happy endings’ being on offer.”

I rang a New York friend to ask if she knew of any “Georges” in a town known for its demanding girls. “It’s an urban myth,” she howls. “You always hear about the guy who gives a ‘happy ending’, but when it comes to the crunch, nobody has his number. Ever.”

So I set out to find — if not experience — some “happy endings” in London myself, and posted an ad on Gumtree. In 20 answers from both genuine masseurs and dodgy chancers, I found one guy who offered “delightful Hawaiian lomilomi massage the naturist’s way”. Another came with several qualifications, including a diploma in sports and remedial massage. As I posed as a nervous potential client, he explained: “I try to make people relaxed and happy. The ending is sensual and arousing, but it is done without any form of penetration. I do know how to give an amazing orgasm without .” We talk a little about pressure points and human anatomy. I wonder how he broaches the subject of “extras”? “When you massage a person, you ask how they want it: soft, medium or firm. You then ask what parts they want massaged: if they say yes to inner thighs, buttocks and the chest, and if they want to be totally naked, you generally get an idea of what they really mean.”

Technically, with women’s erogenous zones so much less defined than men’s, the “happy ending” is a grey area. What is actually a benign, relaxing massage for most could be sensual ecstasy for the overexcitable or an excruciating invasion of personal space for the physically shy. But talking to this particular “therapist”, it is clear that his “extras” clients are not surprised by how his massages end.

One of his qualifications comes from the Manchester School of Massage, where a spokeswoman, Lucy Johnson, says: “As soon as the therapist feels uncomfortable, we [teach them] that they should stop and leave the room.” She found my insistence that one of its alumni offered “happy endings” unbelievable. Wendy Kavanagh of the General Council for Massage Therapy gave me equally short shrift. “This is a therapeutic profession to be classed alongside chiropractic or physiotherapy, and if someone is offering sexual services, they should not be allowed to practise.”

How, then, to regulate the emergence of the practitioners of tantric therapies, for whom the yoni massage is part of an ancient Indian tradition? “Yoni” is the Sanskrit word for “divine passage” — the vagina, in western parlance. I asked the receptionist at Cosmic Touch Creative Therapy whether it offered yoni massage. And yes, indeed, it did. “It is a beautiful, relaxing, full-body massage, enjoyable and healing. Many women, not just lesbians, find they enjoy the sensual touch of another woman.”

At Cosmic Touch, it is obviously important that the client is compliant. Without such demand, we wouldn’t be looking at the small but growing number of tantra practitioners in this country. “The point of our tantric treatments is to cause your sexual energy to rise. Obviously, if our goddess does something to you that you feel uncomfortable with, this will stop the flow of your sexual energy,” says Cosmic Touch.

Why are we so nervous about “happy endings”, when, as many people say, sexual arousal is a matter of being aware of pressure points, and not necessarily a grubby scrum “down there”? Since more and more women are single these days, I wonder if “happy endings” could become the empowered woman’s solution to sexual frustration — sparing them the sordid disappointment of one-night stands? Until relatively recently, hysteria in women was ascribed to either a lack of sex or no gratification from it; physicians would massage the poor patient’s genitals to induce what was medically termed “paroxysm”. Dare I suggest that massage therapists might have the same equally pragmatic approach to the human body?

Would “happy endings” become acceptable if all your friends were doing it, too? A bit like Botox and cocaine, it’s ostensibly a dodgy sort of business, but its definition as such is dictated by your peer group. On a ring round, I found even sexually adventurous friends said: “Nooo!” One told me that when she met her boyfriend, she stopped her entirely proper visits to a male masseur because she felt strange being naked in front of another man.

Even the sexually upfront and enlightened Sam Roddick of Coco de Mer is not keen: “Tantric massage is one thing — it has philosophy, methods and it’s an empowered situation. I can’t imagine other instances where either client or practitioner isn’t being exploited. So little commercial sex is ever fair-trade. I heard there is a guy practising tantric therapies in London who offers G-spot massage. Are you having a laugh?” she hoots. “I’m not paying for that — come on, he’s a bloke. We’re so hazy in our sexual boundaries. And the exploitation goes both ways. A friend told me about getting a ‘happy ending’ from a masseur in Thailand and she had the same justification as men do when they come out of a dodgy massage parlour.

“Women: there’s a lot of free sex out there. Why would you want to pay for it?”

COULD SOLAR HIGHWAYS POWER OUR CITIES?

by Jorge Chapa

In the search for a solar solution to power our cities, one of our biggest obstacles is the massive acreage required by conventional arrays. Photovoltaic panels are flat and expansive, and urban centers are at a serious loss for free space. Now Australian renewable energy retailer Going Solar has conceived of a clever strategy that infuses urban transit systems with energy producing potential - install solar panels in highways as sound barriers!

Going Solar’s first highway installation was completed on the Tullamarine Calder Interchange in Australia. The solar sound barrier comprises 500 meters of photovoltaic panels that are attached to a public display showing the project’s power output. As the highway is located near some residential areas, energy doesn’t have to travel far to reach its destination, and the massive solar panels provide much needed soundproofing to the houses nearby.

It is expected that the installation will produce 18.7 megawatts per year, which is enough to cover its cost in about 15 years. The innovative application has netted Going Solar the ATRAA’s award for best grid-connected system

+ Going Solar

Via resourcesmart.vic.gov

Vice Versa: Amsterdam Cleans Up

PUT ON THE RED LIGHT: Amsterdam's vibrant red-light district has long been one of the city's major tourist attractions

Alessandro Della Bella / Keystone / Corbis

For Maurits Van Brunschot, the breaking point came nearly 21 years after he first settled amid the cobblestone alleyways of De Wallen, Amsterdam's red-light district. Van Brunschot began taking his infant daughter to day care. The neighborhood's public nursery was squeezed between two brothels, where nearly naked women in the windows beckon adult passersby. "Can you imagine this is what she sees every day?" says Van Brunschot, a food-company executive.

That question is perhaps too rarely posed by the millions of people who visit Amsterdam each year. For them, the city's liberal laws and attitudes offer a stark contrast to the heavy policing of sex and drugs elsewhere in Europe and in the U.S., and make this tiny neighborhood one of Amsterdam's most intriguing attractions. "Often people go to the museums and then to the red-light district," says the city's mayor, Job Cohen, sitting in his office with a sweeping view of the Ij River. "It is part of the image of tolerant Amsterdam."

Until now, that is. In a break with Amsterdam's "anything goes" attitude, Cohen and city officials have vowed to finally crack down on what they say are extensive criminal networks operating in the neighborhood. Their campaign won't bring an end to prostitution, which has been legal in the Netherlands since 2000; nor will they systematically uproot the red-light district's scores of coffeehouses, where the sale of marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms has long been allowed. But the easy tolerance of sex and drugs that has so long characterized Amsterdam is fading fast. In its place comes a growing concern over the criminal enterprises that have moved in on what were once cottage industries of vice.

The presence of these networks is hardly new to long-term residents. For years they have warned officials and police that the owners of the narrow 17th century canalside buildings were charging hugely inflated rents to the sole group of tenants willing to pay them: brothel managers. Buildings were bought and sold within weeks at steep profits, leading officials to conclude that millions of euros were being pumped through the area with little oversight — a perfect environment for large-scale money laundering. Police also say that more and more prostitutes now work for pimps, in violation of Dutch laws that require them to work independently.

Beginning last year, the city has intensified its pursuit of financial investigations into the neighborhood's sex and drug businesses. The officials' best tool is an anti-money-laundering law that obliges all business owners in Amsterdam's red-light district to disclose their financial records when they apply for permits and licenses; anyone suspected of criminal activity can have their application suspended or refused, whether or not the charges have been proved. The strategy has sent a chill through De Wallen, where long-time building owners — some nearing retirement age — have little stomach for long legal wrangles.

In a deal brokered by city officials last October, one of the district's biggest brothel owners, "Fat" Charlie Geerts, sold 18 buildings alongside one of Amsterdam's most picturesque canals to the semipublic property company NV Stadsgoed for $37 million. Officials immediately closed down the buildings' 51 brothel windows, and installed in 16 of them young fashion designers, who pay a token monthly rent of $220. That's just one small piece of a much more ambitious cleanup initiative. A wall map in City Hall shows a block-by-block plan that aims to halve the size of the red-light district over the next few years by shutting scores of brothels, according to Deputy Mayor Lodewijk Asscher, who has spearheaded the campaign. "People think just because the windows are transparent that the place is transparent," says Asscher. "But there is still a lot of abuse and trafficking of women."

Walk along Amsterdam's inner canals and you retrace the steps of centuries of sailors whose ships docked here after months at sea. These narrow paths long marked the water's edge, and they have drawn prostitutes since the 1400s. Many of them raised children upstairs in the canal houses and plied their trade below, much as did the neighborhood's butchers and bakers. While those old houses have been painstakingly preserved, little else remains the same. Many prostitutes (some of them men) still show off their bodies in about 400 display windows, wearing sliver-sized underwear and heavy makeup. But other traders of more immediate use to locals, like food stores, have largely vanished from these streets and been replaced by a profusion of sex shows, erotica stores, pornography cinemas and at least 150 brothels. Amsterdam's sex industry is worth tens of millions of euros per year, officials say. From this year onward, those funds are theoretically taxable, but Asscher admits that while prostitutes' income taxes could bring the city millions in revenues, few are likely to pay up — underlining the city's position that legalizing the sex industry has done little to unravel criminals' control over it.

Residents claim that the neighborhood has changed drastically in recent years, as the numbers of Dutch prostitutes dropped and thousands of women, many from Eastern Europe, arrived to take their place. "We used to know all the prostitutes, they were our neighbors," says Gerrit van der Veen, a management consultant who has lived in De Wallen since 1972. Van der Veen, like other locals, blames Amsterdam's government for ignoring the growing presence of traffickers and pimps, preferring instead to promote the city's open-mindedness. "The government just gave away the old center of Amsterdam," he says. Cohen admits that the city missed early warning signs of criminal involvement. "It took some time before we realized that there was so much trafficking and abuses," he says.

That slow-footedness gave criminals time to wrap their tentacles around the district, as the city's first high-profile sex-trafficking trial showed this summer. Two German-Turkish brothers, Saban and Hasan Baran, were charged with running a large-scale prostitution operation, assaulting prostitutes and forcing some of them to undergo breast-enlargement operations; they were convicted and sentenced to prison terms in July. Yet despite that victory, law-enforcement officials believe many other criminals are escaping prosecution. "Girls just will not go to the police, in case these men threaten their families at home," says a police officer who didn't want to be named. He says he has seen prostitutes beaten with baseball bats and burned with cigarettes; even then, they steer clear of cops.

Yet critics of the government's cleanup argue that shutting brothels will simply lead prostitutes to become streetwalkers, leaving them still more vulnerable to abuse. "If you want to help these women, this is the not the way to do it," says Mariska Majoor, who worked as a teenage prostitute during the 1980s and now runs the neighborhood's Prostitution Information Center. She and others are pushing for more public-funded campaigns to inform prostitutes of their legal rights against pimps and traffickers, and to help those who want out to find other jobs.

At City Hall, Asscher says prostitution and the use of soft drugs will still be widely tolerated under the new plan, but that criminals will not be. The neighborhood could boom once the sex industry is "substantially diminished," he says. "Real estate investors realize this is a beautiful part of the capital that has great potential."

Behind the brothel doors, the plan has sparked unease about the future. Slim Gharbi, 43, who runs a brothel company called La Vie en Rose, believes city officials have exaggerated the area's criminality and placed its entire sex industry under suspicion. "I make so much money I would be crazy to do anything illegal," he says, sitting at a computer in which he stores personal files on dozens of prostitutes — including the necessary proof that they are over 21 and allowed to work in the European Union. Gharbi can earn thousands of euros a day by renting out 32 rooms to prostitutes in three eight-hour shifts; he keeps 15% and gives the rest to the two absentee building owners. The women charge their clients a going rate of about $75 for sex; the rooms rent for up to $225 for the shift between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., when the tourist groups have left and the serious customers arrive. Says Gharbi, "I rent rooms just like Mr. Hilton."

Yet despite Gharbi's innocuous characterization, and La Vie en Rose's romantic name, the prostitutes who plunk down cash and collect their keys at the beginning of their shifts describe their work as tough, lonely and often sordid. Ivana, a 27-year-old Dutch woman, says she began working as a prostitute after spending two years in jail and finding no other employment when she got out. Now, she says, "I switch my mind to zero when I work." Irina, a petite Ukrainian, says she has made "a lot of money" after 10 years working in De Wallen and continues to attract steady business from "men who are alone and scared." Despite her long experience as a prostitute, she has kept her work a secret from her two children, ages 21 and 14. Monika, a 26-year-old Romanian, says she too earns well — sometimes as much as $15,000 a month — and can send money home to her parents. Yet she says her work has kept her from having a boyfriend and left her isolated from her family, who have no idea that she is a prostitute.

So far Cohen and Asscher have not explained which of these prostitutes or the thousands of others will survive the red-light district's transformation. But the city's plans have already jolted many into contemplating a different future for themselves. Monika says she thinks she will one day find a regular job — the kind she could tell her parents about. After a decade working as a prostitute, Irina has begun studying to be a Russian-language tour guide around Amsterdam. And Van Brunschot, the company executive, says he has grown tired of waiting for the city to change his neighborhood. Earlier this year he began looking for a new home, either in Amsterdam's western suburbs or in the seaside city of Haarlem. "I've told myself I'll be out by the end of this year," he says. He'll be one of hundreds leaving. But many of them have not the slightest idea where they'll end up.

Nine medieval ships found in Oslo mud

The Associated Press

OSLO: The largest collection of antique shipwrecks ever found in Norway has been discovered under mud at the building site for a new highway tunnel in Oslo, the project's lead archaeologist said Friday.

The archaeologist, Jostein Gundersen, said at least nine wooden boats, the largest of them 17 meters, or 56 feet, long, were found well preserved nearly 400 years after they sank at Bjoervika, an Oslo inlet near the new national opera house.

"For us, this is a sensation," he said. "There has never been a find of so many boats and in such good condition at one site in Norway."

The wrecks were remarkably well preserved because they had been covered in mud and fresh water, where river waters reach the sea, he said.

"We have a fantastic opportunity to learn more about old shipbuilding techniques and the old harbors," said Gundersen of the Norwegian Maritime Museum in Oslo.

He said the wrecks were believed to have sunk sometime after a fire swept the wooden buildings of old Oslo in 1624. After that disaster, the Danish-Norwegian king, Kristian IV, ordered the city center moved before reconstruction started.

The discovered boats were moored at the old port, which became a remote area after the city was moved. He said the boats might have been 30 or 40 years old when they sank.

"There is nothing to indicate that the ships were deliberately scuttled," Gundersen said. "They could have sunk one by one, because of sloppy mooring or poor maintenance, or maybe sank in a storm."

He said the wreckage would be charted and removed as quickly as possible, so construction of the undersea tunnel could continue. It will then take years, he said, to examine all the ship's remnants back at the museum.

Gundersen said the find will help fill gaps in knowledge of vessels between Norwegian Viking ships of about 1,000 years ago and more modern vessels.

Amazing Ice Sculptures

Some of these great ice sculptures are from Harbin, China, Alaska. And some from the Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan. Seems, creativity is cross-cultural and universal!

Click here for the pics | digg story

Predicting the 2008 NFL season

	Don Banks	>	INSIDE THE NFL

The New Orleans offense will center on quarterback Drew Brees this season. Gene Lower/SI There are exactly 267 games that matter in an NFL season, and it's always a guessing game to predict the winners and losers. But when I searched for my projected Super Bowl matchup after six weeks of watching, listening and learning this preseason, I kept coming back to two teams that have what I consider the key factor in any Super Bowl run: Motivation that borders on an obsession. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers have it in droves. They've gone an impressive 27-9 the past two regular seasons, but both times they've had their dreams cruelly ended by the Patriots in the playoffs. Finding a way to get past the folks from Foxboro has occupied nearly every waking second for Chargers general manager A.J. Smith these past two years, and I think he has finally built a team to get the job done. In the NFC, Saints head coach Sean Payton put it to me best during an early August stop at New Orleans' training camp: In the NFL, you always try to bank on the motivated player. The guy who wants it a little bit more than anyone else. In terms of his Saints, that would be Jeremy Shockey, trying to prove to the Giants he was an asset, not a minus. That would be Jonathan Vilma intent on showing the Jets that they gave up on him prematurely. And that would be players such as Reggie Bush, Jason David, Bobby McCray, even Drew Brees, all of whom have a reason to play with a little bit of a chip on their shoulders this season. So put me down for the Saints-Chargers in Super Bowl XLIII. New Orleans is hungry again after last season's expectations went unmet, and the Chargers, having finally ended their playoff-win drought with a pair of January victories, are poised to take the biggest step of all. The Chargers over the Saints next February in Tampa. In late August, before the games that count even begin, it all makes sense to me at this point. But let's see if the next five months changes everything. AFC East 1. New England (11-5) -- Winless preseason or not, the Patriots are still the NFL's gold standard. The schedule looks soft (a league low .387 opponents winning percentage), but there's a lot of travel involved for a team that's starting to show some age. New England will cruise to its third consecutive AFC title game, but those late-game playoff meltdowns are starting to become a habit. *2. Buffalo (9-7) -- The endless Jason Peters stand-off could be the loose thread that unravels the whole suit, but the Bills are better defensively and they have just enough increased firepower on offense to end a playoff drought that has stretched an AFC-high eight seasons. 3. New York Jets (9-7) -- The J-E-T-S are undeniably better after an offseason (and preseason) of making major headline acquisitions, but they still need a lot of pieces to fall into place just right to close the gap on New England. They'd be better off just trying to catch the Bills. 4. Miami (5-11) -- Rock bottom was reached last year, and that means the onetime playoff perennial Dolphins are on their way back. But nobody goes worst to first in the AFC East. The Fish will be bigger, and play tougher and smarter. That's enough progress for '08. AFC North 1. Cleveland (9-7) -- At the start of the preseason, I was convinced the Browns were ready for their close-up, and they'd continue to be the team on the rise in their division. Now the bar of expectation appears close to falling on their heads. It may not be pretty early, but they'll persevere. 2. Pittsburgh (8-8) -- The Steelers will be the same old Steelers, albeit slightly more explosive with Rashard Mendenhall around on offense. But their schedule is far tougher than last year's, and I'm still not convinced Pittsburgh's offensive line won't be its eventual undoing. 3. Cincinnati (6-10) -- New coordinator Mike Zimmer better be able to work mini-miracles on defense, because this is a team that can't win unless its front seven takes a quantum step forward. My gut tells me Bengals fans are in for another maddening season of underachievement. 4. Baltimore (5-11) -- I look for Ravens rookie head coach John Harbaugh to spend his first season figuring out which guys he can win with, and which guys are part of the problem. The culture change he has begun in Baltimore won't pay dividends right away, but give him time.

Posted: Friday August 29, 2008 9:59AM; Updated: Monday September 1, 2008 12:18PM

Quarterback David Garrard and the Jaguars are trying to close the gap on the Colts. Gary Bogdon/SI AFC South 1. Indianapolis (10-6) -- I've heard some reports of the Colts' imminent demise and believe them to be somewhat exaggerated. But this much is true: The rest of the rough and tumble AFC South has narrowed the gap on Indy considerably, and I don't see more than a two-game gap separating first place from last place. *2. Jacksonville (10-6) -- The Jaguars in the second half of last season proved they can score with the elite offenses in the league. But I still can't get them into anything other than the top wild-card position, right on the Colts' heels this year. Maybe the difference will be the pass rush they hope they've upgraded significantly. 3. Tennessee (9-7) -- It's simple, really. The Titans can't take a step up in this division unless third-year quarterback Vince Young becomes a play-making threat with both his arm and his legs. Tennessee has plenty enough defense to win its share of games. The offense just can't conspire to get the Titans beat. 4. Houston (8-8) -- The Texans are a team on the come, especially on a defense studded with young talent. Another .500 finish might feel disappointing in Houston, but remember the 1996-97-98 Oilers/Titans, who went 8-8 three years in a row before going to the Super Bowl in 1999. AFC West 1. San Diego (13-3) -- Nowhere will the gap between the first and second-place team be more pronounced than in the AFC West, which San Diego in essence has owned since 2004. With those two playoff victories of last January under their belts, the Chargers are much more confident, less mercurial team. And did I mention they're driven to beat the Patriots? 2. Denver (8-8) -- We'll know plenty about these Broncos right off the bat, because they have home games against San Diego and New Orleans -- my two Super Bowl teams -- in Weeks 2 and 3. If they've made improvement, it's only marginal. The Broncos are 16-16 since winning the division in 2005, and more of the same .500 dance is on the way. 3. Oakland (5-11) -- If second-year quarterback JaMarcus Russell blossoms in what will amount to his rookie season, the Raiders could surprise some people this year and make a move toward the middle of the pack in the AFC. But for a team that has had the reverse Midas Touch on personnel for the past five years, that's a bit to ask and hope for. 4. Kansas City (3-13) -- Yes, it was a draft to remember, but then the preseason started and reminded everyone just how far Kansas City's rebuilding effort has to go. This year I can't even see the last-place Chiefs getting off to a hopeful getaway like last season's team, which was 4-3 en route to 4-12. It could be brutal from Week 1 on, when K.C. draws the dubious assignment of opening on the road in Foxboro. NFC East 1. Dallas (11-5) -- First, the good news for Cowboys fans: There will be a playoff victory for the first time since 1996. But alas, not two, and thus head coach Wade Phillips might find a two-year regular-season record of 24-8 (our projection, of course) and a pair of NFC East titles isn't enough to stave off the dawn of the Jason Garrett era. Don't say we didn't warn you. *2. Philadelphia (10-6) -- I like the Eagles. I really do. That three-game winning streak to end last season was no mirage, and Donovan McNabb is back to being a quarterback who can beat anyone when he's on his game. But while I don't see a glaring weakness on this roster, I just can't picture Philly's season avoiding a speed bump or two. 3. New York Giants (9-7) -- The Giants are correct in their supposition that most people have not factored their magical postseason run into the projections for the NFC East this season. It's a valid point, and I'm guilty of it myself. But magic like the Giants exhibited is rarely duplicated the next season. I don't consider it a form of disrespect, as much as disbelief. 4. Washington (6-10) -- The Redskins are one of the tougher teams to peg because much of their season seems to hinge on how quarterback Jason Campbell transitions to new head coach Jim Zorn's West Coast offense. If you believe Campbell is a perfect fit for the system, there's reason for hope. If not, and you believe Campbell may struggle initially, you agree with me. NFC North 1. Minnesota (10-6) -- The pieces are in place for a return to the playoffs in Viking-land, but check out that early schedule: at Green Bay on Monday night of Week 1, home against dangerous Indy and improved Carolina, and then at Tennessee and New Orleans. If Minnesota makes it through that at no worse than 2-3, a double-digit win season is still very much in play. 2. Green Bay (9-7) -- The Packers have an impressive collection of young talent, likely the division's finest. But somehow I can't shake the feeling the club's nightmarish Brett Favre saga of this summer will loom over the entire season, robbing Green Bay of its 13-win mojo of a year ago. 3. Detroit (7-9) -- The Lions didn't do much to inspire much buzz this offseason in terms of personnel moves, and I can't find reason to change their slot in the NFC North from last year's 7-9 third-place finish. While Detroit has looked sharp this preseason, I sense we're all a little hesitant to buy into another fast start by the Lions, who were 6-2 at the turn in '07. 4. Chicago (5-11) -- Was this team really in the Super Bowl just two short years ago? If Devin Hester doesn't score, I don't know where the points are going to come from, no matter which quarterback plays.

Posted: Friday August 29, 2008 9:59AM; Updated: Monday September 1, 2008 12:18PM

After being injured last season, quarterback Jake Delhomme will be motivated to bring the Panthers back to the postseason. Gary Bogdon/SI

NFC South

1. New Orleans (12-4) -- The Saints don't need a dominant defense in order to win with one of the NFL's elite offenses on their side. But I like everything New Orleans did to strengthen its defense, with upgrades on the line, at linebacker and in the secondary. The Saints will score, and now they can slow their opponents down too.

*2.Carolina (10-6) -- With some real pressure in Carolina this year, a bunch of Panthers have a bunch to prove. It starts with head coach John Fox, but quarterback Jake Delhomme, defensive end Julius Peppers and especially receiver Steve Smith are in that category as well. Carolina seems poised to use all that motivation to their benefit with a return to the playoffs.

3. Tampa Bay (8-8) -- The Bucs have a well stocked roster and a .500 finish would clearly register as underachievement. But no one has repeated as champion in this division since it formed in 2002, and that's a streak destined to continue. The hungriest teams usually prosper in the NFC South, and I've got the Saints and Panthers ranking higher on want-to this year.

4. Atlanta (4-12) -- The Falcons just don't have the weapons to compete for anything other than last place this season, but I still like the direction new general manager Thomas Dimitroff and rookie head coach Mike Smith are heading. They're building a program, not just a team. That's the best way to ensure staying out of last place in years to come.

NFC West

1. Seattle (9-7) -- We keep waiting for the Seahawks' reign in the NFC West to come to a close, but there's no end in sight this year. Seattle will send Mike Holmgren out a winner this season, just as he has been so many times before in his 17-year NFL head coaching career. The Seahawks simply have fewer holes than any of their division foes.

2. Arizona (8-8) -- It's time for people to stop talking about the Cardinals taking that long-awaited step up to playoff qualifier, and let Arizona prove it has matured enough to handle the expectations. Put me down for doubtful that this year's Cardinals will break out of the mold.

3. St. Louis (6-10) -- At least the Rams got their Steven Jackson holdout problem settled. Can you imagine how bleak things would look in St. Louis without its one legitimate game-breaker? The Rams will need good fortune on the injury front -- something they had none of last year -- and unexpected contributors just to avoid a double-digit loss season.

4. San Francisco (4-12) -- It's make-or-break time for Mike Nolan and his 49ers coaching staff, and the team's three-man preseason quarterback competition already lent an air of desperation to the proceedings. I can't find many reasons to believe this year isn't just the depressing precursor to another fresh start for San Francisco's beleaguered fans in 2009.

* -- Wild-card qualifier

Predicted playoff seeding

AFC
1. San Diego
2. New England
3. Indianapolis
4. Cleveland
5. Jacksonville
6. Buffalo

NFC
1. New Orleans
2. Dallas
3. Minnesota
4. Seattle
5. Philadelphia
6. Carolina

Wild-card round
Indianapolis (3) defeats Buffalo (6)
Jacksonville (5) defeats Cleveland (4)
Philadelphia (5) defeats Seattle (4)
Minnesota (3) defeats Carolina (6)

Divisional round
New England (2) defeats Indianapolis (3)
San Diego (1) defeats Jacksonville (5)
New Orleans (1) defeats Philadelphia (5)
Dallas (2) defeats Minnesota (3)

Conference championships
San Diego defeats New England
New Orleans defeats Dallas

Super Bowl XLIII
San Diego defeats New Orleans

Awards

MVP -- Drew Brees, New Orleans, QB -- The Saints potent offense will roll up huge numbers, and Brees will be the catalyst in the center of it all.

Coach of the Year -- Norv Turner, San Diego -- The Chargers might be both favored and loaded, but that doesn't mean Turner won't deserve acclaim for the best coaching job of his long career.

Offensive Rookie of the Year -- Jonathan Stewart, Carolina, RB -- The Panthers' resurgent offense will surprise in part thanks to Stewart's big-play style of running.

Defensive Rookie of the Year -- Sedrick Ellis, New Orleans, DT -- The ex-USC star should be a force in the middle of a much-improved Saints defensive front.

Offensive Player of the Year -- Drew Brees, New Orleans, QB -- Brees will have all the necessary numbers for what is a statistic-based honor.

Defensive Player of the Year -- Jared Allen, Minnesota, DE -- Allen's impact as a premier pass rusher gives the Vikings defense a lift into the league's elite.

Comeback Player of the Year -- Julius Peppers, Carolina, DE -- A move to the right end slot resurrects the skills of one of the most feared pass rushers in the NFL.

La Tomatina: The Biggest Food Fight on the Planet

Written by Delana

(Images via: World Nomads, Valencia Trader and the Sydney Morning Herald)

Once a year, tens of thousands of tourists gather in a town in Spain to hurl over one hundred tons of overripe tomatoes … all in just one hour. When the festival is called to a halt fire houses are used to clean the streets as well as the participants. For this brief but amazing food fight the size of the town quadruples, drawing visitors from all over the world to participate in the largest spaghetti sauce bath of all time.

(Images via: Funny Mos, Ifood, Espacio Blog and Wayfaring)

Participants in La Tomatina are encouraged to wear safety gear such as goggles and forbidden to bring anything that could be used as an actual weapon into the fray. Nonetheless, clothing is typically torn and outfits are trashed within the brief free-for-all hour of the main event. Strangely enough, though, the acidity of the tomatoes renders the ground underneath essentially clean once the tomatoes are washed away.

In recent years the festival has become such a phenomenon that parties surrounding it start up to a week early and participants in many cases must stay multiple towns away from Bunol - and may have trouble getting into the middle of the tamato fight itself once it starts on the narrow streets of the town. Strangely, no one is quite certain how the festival started decades ago though theories abound as to its origins. For a more extended peak check out the SciFi Channel’s feature on the festival.

Blueprint for the 2012 London Olympic venues

London 2012 Olympic Games main stadium blueprints. That is one of Europe’s largest engineering programme from the London Olympic Delivery Authority (Olympic Delivery Authority) planning, in April 2008 to commence in 2012 and put into use.

According to the London Olympics official Tessa Jowell said that this project will be built in east London, London is one of the poorest areas. The main stadium area will reach 600 acres (250 hectares), the Library established a total of 80,000 seats

Bengals wide receiver changes last name to Ocho Cinco

CINCINNATI -- Maybe receiver Chad Johnson can go by the name that his head coach hates.

Johnson

The Cincinnati Bengals receiver has legally changed his name to Chad Javon Ocho Cinco in Broward County, Fla., a switch that became official this week. Johnson, who lives in Miami, didn't return a message left on his cell phone Friday night.

"It's something I don't think anyone has ever done before," he told the team's Web site. "Have I ever had a reason for why I do what I do? I'm having fun."

Two years ago, Johnson gave himself the moniker -- a reference in Spanish to his No. 85 -- and put it on the back of his uniform before a game. Quarterback Carson Palmer ripped it off before the kickoff. After the season, coach Marvin Lewis -- who dislikes Johnson's attention-getting stunts -- referred to the receiver as "Ocho Psycho."

Bengals spokesman Jack Brennan said the Bengals had no comment on the matter.

Johnson has been a concern for the Bengals this season. He unsuccessfully lobbied for a trade in the offseason, threatening to sit out if he didn't get his way. When the Bengals refused, he relented and showed up for minicamp, but complained that his right ankle was bothering him.

He had bone spurs removed from the ankle and was limited at the start of training camp. In the second preseason game, he landed awkwardly and temporarily dislocated his left shoulder. Johnson is wearing a harness and expects to play in the season opener against Baltimore.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

18 Incredibily Effective Camouflage Photos (PIC)

Fascinating Pictures

click here for the pics | digg story

Most Unfortunate Name Ever

Seven Coffee Shops in Amsterdam that are Good to Go

Written by Matt Kepnes

Feature photo by designCL. Photo above by darkpatator.

Amsterdam is renowned for its “coffee shops.” Here are seven of the best.

Photo by Lelik.

I’ve zoned out and my fellow “researchers” are waving away the final joint. They can’t handle anymore either. There are only so many joints you can smoke in a day.

I take out my notepad and we try to convey how we feel about this place. After a few long pauses, we give up, order a drink, and begin to roll another joint. I guess you can never smoke too many.

Matador sent me on assignment in Amsterdam (no expenses paid) to find the best coffee shops in the city. This marked my fourth trip to the city and I was only happy to oblige.

If you are looking for the best of the best, follow your nose to these places for the highest times in Amsterdam.

Author’s Note: Amsterdam recently banned smoking tobacco indoors. This has hurt many of the coffee shops since people in Europe smoke marijuana with tobacco.

A few coffee shops have set up separate areas where people are allowed to smoke inside. A few turn a blind eye to the ban. Most tell you to go outside and offer a herbal tobacco substitute. Ask before you light up.

Trinity

This coffee shop is out of the city center, making it a “locals only” spot. (I found it with the help of a local.) There’s a big bar with a great selection, much, much cheaper than the center. There’s also a few pool tables, a big screen TV, and a separate smoking room.

The staff is really friendly and the locals are intrigued as to how you found this place. The smoking ban hit this place hard so it’s not as packed as it used to be but it’s more relaxed than other places.

Photo by Cédric Puisney.

De Rokerij

This café is located on the way to Leidsplein and has a mystical ambiance, one long room with dark lights and darker walls with tribal designs for you to stare at all day.

The weed here is good but the place is better known for its atmosphere. You aren’t allowed to smoke tobacco and they offer an herbal substitute. The drinks here are also reasonably priced considering its location.

The Greenhouse

This coffee shop has three locations, the flagship located in the Red Light district. It’s one of the most famous in Amsterdam and the walls are adorned with photos of celebrities to prove it. Their weed constantly wins the Cannabis Cup (try the haze).

Cheap drinks help cushion the blow to your wallet. You can’t smoke inside but there are outdoor tables or you can use the free tobacco substitute they provide. The music is eclectic (I heard Pink Floyd and Snoop Dog in the same sitting) and the décor dark and relaxing. They even have a few coves in the wall to relax in.

Photo by Marilisa.

The Grasshopper

Located in between Damrak and the Red Light district, this coffeeshop wears multiple hats- it’s a bar, restaurant, and coffee shop. Head downstairs for the coffee shop.

They’ve created a separate smoking area down here so you can light up anything smokable. Tables are lined together in close quarters, making it easy to meet people. TVs run in the background and music plays over the speakers. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and the weed is reasonably priced.

Hunter’s Café

Hunter’s has been one of my favorites since I started coming to Amsterdam.

Located right at the beginning of the Red Light district, this place is a little touristy, however, the black decor gives a nice lounge feel and there are ample chairs and couches to relax on.

Staff is really friendly and the prices are somewhat cheaper than other shops in the area. They make great shakes, too. There’s no tobacco allowed here, but you can use the substitute they offer. Just head up Warmastraat and look for the giant peeing dog.

Dolphins

Located right off Leidstraat near Liesplein, this coffee shop follows the ocean theme all the way. The walls are painted blue with various sea life images and “coral” is replicated to give this place a true underwater feeling.

Upstairs has the bar and a few tables. You can’t smoke tobacco up there, but head downstairs where the big comfy couches and TV welcome you with open arms. They also offer free wi-fi.

DampKring

This coffee shop was made famous by the movie “Ocean’s 12″ and has since seen a steady stream of people trying to pretend they’re Brad Pitt or George Clooney.

The shop has a wide open interior with orange painted walls. The various shades of orange are in different shapes to provide for the ultimate psychedelic experience.

Good drinks and good weed are served here at standard prices. The tables have patterns carved into them. They turn a blind eye to smoking inside-if they don’t see it, it’s not there. A lazy cat sits in the window all day to greet you as you come in.

Photo by adjustafresh.

No matter where you go, remember that these coffee shops all share similar characteristics. They have atmosphere, a friendly staff, couches, good drinks, and friendly stoners. Look for that and you’ll find the best coffee shop in Amsterdam.

community connection

Some of our community members who’ve lived in Amsterdam for extended periods have gotten over the coffee shops. Here’s one excellent article for those out there who’d like to check out other things while in Amsterdam: 10 Things to do in Amsterdam Besides Smoking Pot.

We’ve got all kind of travelers checking throughout Europe and the rest of the world, come, check in with us.

Rage Against The Machine - Guerilla Radio DNC Denver 2008

Rage open their free DNC protest show with Guerilla Radio. There was no way I wasn't getting into this show with the camera....8/27/08 Denver Coliseum

The Top Ten Strange and Unusual Japanese Chewing Gums

by Steve Levenstein

Chews your poison...

These Ten Strange and Unusual Japanese Chewing Gums are really not bad as chewing gum goes - some are actually quite good!

Japanese chewing gum differs from American chewing gum in many ways, and that probably is a result of the practical way Japan looks at chewing gum. Since it's merely chewed for a while and then disposed of, it just makes sense for chewing gum to serve some function, ANY function before being spat out. This way of thinking can produce some VERY strange and unusual types of chewing gum, and from them we've assembled this Top Ten list! Now then, let's get down to the good, the bad and the sticky!

10) No Time Gum: Eat Your Toothbrush!

No time to brush your teeth? No problem - if you've got No Time Gum! This multifunctional minty mélange contains tiny granules that scrub your teeth clean as a whistle while you chew. Is this cool, or what? Gum that works as hard as you do while saving you time and, presumably, dentist visits. I can just hear Mom now... "Chew your gum before going to bed!" (chewing gum via J-List)

9) "Man Smell" Gum - Not Just for Athletic Supporters

Yes, the title threw me too, but that's what "Otoko Kaoru" translates to. Luckily there's much more to it than that - like the previously mentioned Fuwarinka Scented Gum, Man Smell gum contains those special Rose oils that escape through your skin after chewing. This one exudes a manly Menthol Rose aroma, not just your average sweaty-guy funkiness. Let's be thankful for that, at least. (chewing gum via Food for Thought)

8) Chewing Gum with After-Wrappers - A Neat Idea

Perhaps frightened by word of the infamous Singapore Chewing Gum Ban and Caning Bylaw, the manufacturers of Xylish (pronounced "Zee-Lish") gum decided to add a packet of after-wrappers to their plastic jug o' gum. When you're ready to ditch your chaw, just wrap & toss into the nearest trashcan. This is actually a wonderful idea that other gum manufacturers should follow, it would save the look of our streets by giving people a viable gum disposal option instead of just spitting it out. (chewing gum via Betterdays)

7) Digi-Gum: 4 out of 5 Nutty Professors Agree!

More Xylish gum, this time in "Funky Orange" flavor. The gum itself isn't odd, but the character on the pack is... it sure looks a lot like Jerry Lewis in full-out Nutty Professor mode. Why "Digi-Gum"? Who knows, but doesn't that sound hip & trendy? The gum's active ingredient, Xylitol, is very popular in Japanese gums - it's sweet but doesn't cause tooth decay. (chewing gum via My So-Called Japanese Life)

Check out this cool Japanese TV chewing gum commercial!

6) Sparkle Ninja Chewing Gum, for Flamboyant Ninjas

Strawberry flavored Sparkling Ninja Chewing Gum isn't Japanese, it's just acting that way. I mean, who ever heard of a ninja in a pink outfit? Not that there's anything wrong with that... but isn't being un-noticeable the whole point of being a ninja? Then again, walking down most any major Japanese city street clad in sparkling pink tights isn't going to draw much attention these days anyway. (chewing gum via Mcphee)

5) Black Black Gum - Bigger and Blacker than Before

Didn't they used to sell black gum on the back pages of comic books? Or was it black soap? In any case, Black Black Gum is not for the faint of heart. Just ask Jean-Claude van Damme... the "Muscles from Brussels" promoted the macho chew in a series of Japanese TV ads. According to the print on the package, Black Black Gum has a "Hi Technical Taste". It also has caffeine, niacin and a really powerful licorice-mint taste, making it ideal for those late night cram sessions before a high technical college exam. (chewing gum via 3-Yen)

4) Xylish Platinum Mint Chardonnay Flavor - Smell Drunk, Stay Sober

So you're driving along on a dark evening, not a care in the world, until those telltale flashing lights appear - you've been pulled over by The Law. What NOT to do? Pop a stick of Xylish Platinum Mint "Chardonnay" Flavor Gum in your mouth while waiting for Officer Smith to sidle up alongside. Imagine the fun you'll have, watching him puzzle over the Breathalyzer readings while you exhale wine-breath into the tester yet one more time! Wine-flavored gum... puts those English "Wine Gums" to shame! And, it's the perfect way to disguise a visit to a bar. (chewing gum via Giant Jeans Parlor)

3) Fuwarinka Scented Gum: Come Out Smelling Like a Rose

Now here's a radical idea that, curiously, hasn't caught on outside Japan: gum that makes your breath AND your body smell good! Futuristic Fuwarinka Scented Gum contains the aromatic compounds geraniol and linalool which, when swallowed, waft either Fresh Citrus or Fruity Rose aromas through your skin! Just imagine how much money you'll save on cologne, aftershave and deodorant? (chewing gum via Compact Impact)

2) Sex Gum for Men: Like Chewable Viagra?

Suplitol Tongkat Ali Gum for Men contains a variety of natural herbs and extracts proven (they say) to improve blood flow and muscular function - and they don't mean in your arms, regardless of what the ad photo displays. The gum also contains something called "plant testosterone"... hey, have you ever seen a limp tree? (chewing gum via Get Bust Up Gum)

1) Bust Up Gum: It Blows Up Your Bubbles!

Sorry ladies, if you thought that a Japanese "sex gum for women" was going to be the complement of the just mentioned Suplitol Tongkat Ali Gum for Men, you're going to be sadly disappointed - and probably more than a little annoyed. Bust Up Gum, the female sex gum from B2UP, just makes the fairer sex more sexy - in the eyes of the opposite sex!

None of that blood flow stuff, noooo... according to B2UP, the special ingredients, "extracts from the Pueraria mirifica (Kwao Krua) plant, makes a woman's breasts grow as well as improving their shape and tone." I didn't know breasts HAD a tone - unless it's High C (or B Flat). Still, it's amazing... boob-enhancing gum. They could call it Double Bubble if the name wasn't already taken.

Bust Up gum is just the latest Japanese food product containing Pueraria extracts - others include F-Cup Tea and F-Cup Cookies. Can't say they're not confident in their products! Y'know, Bust Up gum has the potential to replace Ex-Lax chocolate as the snack schoolyard pranksters offer their unsuspecting targets. Can you imagine the expression on some poor proto-geek's face after being told he just chewed Bust Up gum? Let's hope that scenario remains in the field of imagination! (chewing gum via Medical News Today)

And there you have it, a dozen less two Japanese chewing gums you won't find at your local candy counter - for better or worse. Browse some of the better online stores like Rinkya to get some. I'm sure there are stranger, even more unusual Japanese chewing gums out there, somewhere, so please comment with your discoveries!

Steve Levenstein
Japanese Innovations Writer
InventorSpot.com

Brain Scanners, Fingercams Take Computer Interfaces Beyond Multitouch

With their easy-to-use touch screens, Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch are driving home the idea that computing can be more than just tapping away at a keyboard and clicking a mouse.

So it's no surprise that multitouch displays (screens that are sensitive to the pressure of more than one finger) are capturing the imaginations of other manufacturers, including Samsung, Palm and Hewlett-Packard.

But multitouch is merely the first step of a coming revolution in the way people interact with computers.

That future may include using neurotransmitters to help translate thoughts into computing actions, face detection combined with eye tracking and speech recognition, and haptics technology that uses the sense of touch to communicate with the user.

"Computing of today is primarily designed for seated individuals doing office work in the developed world," says Scott Klemmer, co-director of the Human Computer Interaction Group at Stanford University. "If you flip any one of those bits -- look at mobile users, or users outside of the developed world or social computing instead of individual computing -- then the future is wide open."

Neurotransmitters Play on Thought

Users are increasingly looking for richer experiences from the digital world and want more seamless interaction with computing devices, says Klemmer. That's particularly true in entertainment, one area where advancements in interface design are booming.

For instance, the Nintendo Wii made popular the idea of using natural, gestural actions and translating them into movements on screen. The Wii controller takes the swinging motion made by a user and translates it into a golf swing, or it takes a thrust with a remote and turns it into a punch on the screen.

At Drexel University's RePlay Lab, students are working on taking that idea to the next level. They are trying to measure the level of neurotransmitters in a subject's brain to create games where mere thought controls gameplay.

The lab created a 3-D game called Lazybrains that connects a neuro-monitoring device and a gaming engine. The game uses feedback from the players' brains as an additional method of input.

At its core is the Functional Near-Infrared Imaging Device, which shines infrared light into the user's forehead. It then records the amount of light that gets transmitted back and looks for changes to deduce information about the amount of oxygen in the blood.

When a user concentrates, his or her frontal lobe needs more oxygen and the device can detect the change. That means a gamer's concentration level can be used to manipulate the height of platforms in the game, slow down the motion of objects, or even change the color of virtual puzzle pieces.

The technology is in a very experimental stage, says Paul Diefenbach, assistant professor of digital media at Drexel University, who is supervising the project. Researchers have yet to fully understand the human brain and how to correlate the data measured from its activity and map it to an application, he says.

"How do you map brain activity to, say, speed in an application, and how does this translate into the user interface?" says Diefenbach.

Diefenbach believes limitations of brain interface devices and our understanding of how the brain works will mean other technologies such as eye tracking and speech recognition will be combined with it to create a computing experience that will mimic actions in real life.

Meanwhile companies such as Panasonic and Sony are reportedly taking steps to bring alternative interfaces to the world of entertainment, says a Gartner analyst in a recent BBC report. These include bringing face recognition technology to televisions and making entertainment systems that will respond to gestures.

Remote Control Will Rule

While multitouch requires contact between the user and the device, the future will have a lot more remote control, meaning people will be able to manipulate objects and perform traditional computing actions from a distance, say researchers.

An example is FingerSight, a technology labeled by the researchers working on the project as a "new concept in sensory substitution and remote control for the visually impaired, as well as for those who simply want to wave their hands and have things happen."

FingerSight has a miniature camera attached to the fingertip (shown below) along with a device that will offer feedback such as a vibration. As you wave your finger, software in your computer will recognize graphical controls on the screen and deduce your motion relative to those controls, enabling you to turn a dial, for instance, without actually touching it, says John Galeotti, a postdoctoral fellow at the Robotics Institute of the Carnegie Mellon University, who has been working on the system.

"The camera tells how much the finger has moved and it becomes the equivalent of being able to use your fingers to turn a knob," says Galeotti.

Before the system can take off, we have to see a more ubiquitous computing environment with chips embedded in objects everywhere and the development of smart homes so the use of these technologies is seamless and widespread, says Galeotti.

Advancements in human computer interaction will also come from users looking to improve their personal experience by hacking, mashing and modifying devices, says Klemmer.

"Users will soon be tailoring, customizing and hacking the technology out there to suit their own needs," he says. "By gluing a few things together, users will find they can get an experience that is radically different from using things off the shelf."

Still, the keyboard and the mouse aren't going to disappear completely. For word processing, the keyboard remains the most efficient method of input, say researchers.

The developers of these futuristic interfaces will also need patience, as it took nearly 25 years for multitouch to take hold. In 1982, Nimish Mehta at the University of Toronto showed what he called the "Flexible Machine Interface," one of the first demonstrations of a multitouch interface. Nearly 25 years later, Apple released the iPhone.

It takes a long time to go from research to reality," says Klemmer.

Google releasing Web Browser to compete with Microsoft

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Google Inc. is releasing its own Web browser in a long-anticipated move aimed at countering the dominance of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer and ensuring easy access to its market-leading search engine.

The Mountain View-based company took the unusual step of announcing its latest product on the Labor Day holiday after it prematurely sent out a comic book drawn up to herald the new browser's arrival.

The free browser, called "Chrome," is supposed to be available for downloading Tuesday in more than 100 countries for computers running on Microsoft's Windows operating system. Google said it's still working on versions compatible with Apple Inc.'s Mac computer and the Linux operating system.

Google's browser is expected to hit the market a week after Microsoft's unveiling of a test version of its latest browser update, Internet Explorer 8. The tweaks include more tools for Web surfers to cloak their online preferences, creating a shield that could make it more difficult for Google and other marketing networks to figure out which ads are most likely to appeal to which individuals.

Although Google is using a cartoonish approach to promote Chrome, the new browser underscores the gravity of Google's rivalry with Microsoft, whose Internet Explorer is used by about 75 percent of Web surfers.

Google's lead in the lucrative Internet search market is nearly as commanding, with its engine processing nearly two-thirds of the Web's queries.

For the past few years, Google has been trying to take advantage of its search engine's popularity to loosen Microsoft's grip on how most people interact with personal computers.

The assault so far has been focused on a bundle of computer programs, including word processing and spreadsheet applications, that Google offers as an alternative to one of Microsoft's biggest money makers, its Office suite of products.

Google has tried to make its alternatives more appealing and accessible by hosting them for free over Internet connections instead of requiring users to pay a licensing fee to install them on individual computers, as Microsoft typically does.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has tried to thwart Google by investing billions in the development of its own search engine and making an unsuccessful attempt to buy Yahoo Inc. for $47.5 billion.

The tensions between Microsoft and Google now seem likely to escalate with Google's foray into Web browsing.

Until now, Google had been trying to undermine Internet Explorer by supporting Firefox, a Web browser developed by the open-source Mozilla Foundation. Bolstered by an advertising partnership with Google's search engine, Firefox ranks as the second most popular browser, with a market share of more than 10 percent. Google recently extended its advertising alliance with Firefox through 2011.

Bearing the stamp of Google's renowned brand, Chrome could be an even more formidable rival to Explorer.

Still, Google's name is no guarantee of success. For instance, Google's instant messaging service hasn't made come close to catching up to the market-leading products made by Yahoo, Microsoft and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL.

In a blog post Monday, Google touted Chrome as a more sophisticated Web browser better suited for displaying the dynamic and interactive content blossoming on the Web as people migrate from television, radio and newspapers.

"The Web gets better with more options and innovation," Sundar Pichai, Google's vice president of product management, and Linus Upson, Google's engineering director, wrote in the posting. "Google Chrome is another option, and we hope it contributes to making the Web even better."

Microsoft brushed aside the threat in a statement Monday from Dean Hachamovitch, Internet Explorer's general manager.

"The browser landscape is highly competitive, but people will choose Internet Explorer 8 for the way it puts the services they want right at their fingertips ... and, more than any other browsing technology, puts them in control of their personal data online," Hachamovitch said.

Even as it has backed Firefox, Google has openly fretted about the possible ramifications of Microsoft's huge lead in Web browsing.

Google is worried that Microsoft could abuse its power by manipulating Internet Explorer's default settings in a way that might diminish traffic to Google's search engine, which serves as the hub of the largest online ad network.

In 2006, Google contacted the Justice Department to raise alarms about changes to Internet Explorer that Google believed made it more difficult to install search toolbars made by Microsoft's rivals. Although regulators decided not to intervene, Microsoft subsequently modified the way Explorer handled the selection of search toolbars.

Open Source Textbooks challenge the establishment

A small, digital book startup thinks it has a solution to the age-old student lament: overpriced textbooks that have little value when the course is over. The answer? Make them open source -- and give them away.

Flat World Knowledge is the brainchild of two former textbook industry executives who learned from the inside about the wacky economy of textbooks.

In a nutshell, there is a huge, inelastic demand for college texts, even though textbook prices are high. Because of this there is a lot of piracy and a robust secondary market for textbooks -- but not for long, because they are updated every couple of years, rendering old editions virtually worthless.

Flat World's business plan aims to exploit the inefficiencies: Its books are online and free. Instead of charging for content it aims to make money by wrapping content up in "convenient" downloadable and print wrappers and selling those, along with study aides and related items.

Enhancing the value of the online versions is the open source component. Students can annotate and comment in the digital margins of Flat World's texts to share their insights, analysis and conclusions with other students.

Digital versions of popular print textbooks have been widely available for a while now through distribution sites like CourseSmart, which offers around 4,500 titles and more than one-third of the most popular-selling text book titles.

But a study released last week by the Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) noted that subscription-based digital books are just as unaffordable, considering that a used print book can at least be resold for a while.

“Rather than designing the digital book to fit the [print business] model, publishers should consider redesigning the model to fit digital books,” the PIRG report says. “In theory, this model should work, since students tend to want print books.”

“The nice thing about open content is it gives faculty full control, creative control over the content of the book, full control over timing, and it give students a lot more control over how they want to consume it and how much they want to pay,” says Eric Frank, who along with co-founder Jeff Shelstad, came from a long career in the mainstream textbook industry.

Shelstad spent 13 years at McGraw-Hill and served as editor-in-chief before moving to Prentice Hall, where he was editorial director of Business Publishing. Frank stepped into the industry at Thompson and also eventually left for Prentice Hall where he worked for seven years as acquisitions editor and director of marketing. Flat World raised about $750,000 in angel funding last fall from investors who included authors and university trustees and is on the verge of closing another angel round at a similar amount.

Additional street cred comes by way of the company's "Chief Openness Officer -- David Wiley, the founder of OpenContent.org, former Director of the Center for Open and Sustainable Learning, and the man often credited for bringing the phrase “open content” to its modern usage in the late '90s.

The idea behind open textbooks began with people frustrated with the industry, Frank says. The movement then led to non-profit aggregation platforms like Connexions at Rice University and the Global Text Project at the University of Georgia. But he believes they are one of the first to turn this into a commercial venture.

"On the surface they're (traditional publishers) doing OK, but underneath the surface there are lots of problems," says Frank. "The internet has caused so much disruption in the distribution that there are so many used books and international books and pirated copies out there that after about two years, publishers have to bring out new editions in order to capture revenue again."

Frank says the firm is also in the process of releasing a version for Amazon's Kindle, but is working out several technical hurdles before finalizing anything. Amazon is thought to be toying with the idea of a Kindle marketed to the college crowd, and wired.com readers have been somewhat vocal about the need for textbook support in the device.

Official launch is not until next January, when the company plans to offer eight textbooks, each written for Flat World by scholars who have also produced texts for some of the major publishing companies. It will test its business model over the next semester in a private beta with more than 20 U.S. universities.

In keeping with the decorum of pedagogy, there will be no advertising on the site -- Frank says that the revenue wouldn’t be significant enough to “justify the distraction from an educational perspective.”

But he's not concerned about viability or walking into a "freeconomics" black hole.

“Our premise is that there will of course be some students who spend nothing, they just consume the free book online, but we believe students are consumers and they will pay for convenience if the price is right,” he says.

A Chinese challenge to Intel

Enter the dragon: This single-core central processing unit, known as Loongson, or "dragon chip," was designed and manufactured in China. Chinese engineers have the goal of deploying quad-core chips by 2009. Credit: Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

In California last week, Chinese researchers unveiled details of a microprocessor that they hope will bring personal computing to most ordinary people in China by 2010. The chip, code-named Godson-3, was developed with government funding by more than 200 researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Computing Technology (ICT).

China is making a late entry into chip making, admits Zhiwei Xu, deputy director of ICT. "Twenty years ago in China, we didn't support R&D for microprocessors," he said during a presentation last week at the Hot Chips conference, in Palo Alto. "The decision makers and [Chinese] IT community have come to realize that CPUs [central processing units] are important."

Tom Halfhill, an analyst at research firm In-Stat, says that the objective for China is to take control of the design and manufacture of vital technology. "Like America wants to be energy independent, China wants to be technology independent," Halfhill says. "They don't want to be dependent on outside countries for critical technologies like microprocessors, which are, nowadays, a fundamental commodity." Federal laws also prohibit the export of state-of-the-art microprocessors from the United States to China, meaning that microchips shipped to China are usually a few generations behind the newest ones in the West.

Despite its late start, China is making rapid progress. The ICT group began designing a single-core CPU in 2001, and by the following year had developed Godson-1, China's first general-purpose CPU. In 2003, 2004, and 2006, the team introduced ever faster versions of a second chip--Godson-2--based on the original design. According to Xu, each new chip tripled the performance of the previous one.

Godson chips are manufactured in China by a Swiss company called ST Microelectronics and are available commercially under the brand name Loongson, meaning "dragon chip." Loongson chips already power some personal computers and servers on the Chinese market, which come with the Linux operating system and other open-source software. "They use a lot of open-source software because it's free," says Halfhill. "The Chinese government wants to get as many PCs into schools and as many workplaces as they can."

The latest Godson chips will also have a number of advanced features. Godson-3, a chip with four cores--processing units that work in parallel--will appear in 2009, according to Xu, and an eight-core version is also under development. Both versions will be built using 65-nanometer lithography processes, which are a generation older than Intel's current 45-nanometer processes. Importantly, Godson-3 is scalable, meaning that more cores can be added to future generations without significant redesign. Additionally, the architecture allows engineers to precisely control the amount of power that it uses. For instance, parts of the chip can be shut down when they aren't in use, and cores can operate at various frequencies, depending on the tasks that they need to perform. The four-core Godson-3 will consume 10 watts of power, and the eight-core chip will consume 20 watts, says Xu.

This latest chip will also be fundamentally different from those made before. Neither Godson-1 nor -2 is compatible with Intel's so-called x86 architecture, meaning that most commercial software will not run on them. But engineers have added 200 additional instructions to Godson-3 to simulate an x86 chip, which allows Godson-3 to run more software, including the Windows operating system. And because the chip architecture is only simulated, there is no need to obtain a license from Intel.

Erik Metzger, a patent attorney at Intel, says that the chip will only perform at about 80 percent of the speed of an actual x86 chip. "That implies that [the Chinese government] is going after a low-end market," he says. This is the same market that Intel is targeting with its classmate PC and low-power atom microprocessor. Metzger adds that the inner workings of the chip, known as its instruction set, have not yet been disclosed, making it difficult to know if or how any x86 patents may have been breeched.

The Chinese team hopes to further boost its chip program through collaboration with other companies and researchers. "We still lag behind the international partners a lot," says Xu. "But we are doing our best to join the international community."