Reuters
Thu Jun 26, 2008 BEIJING (Reuters) - Anti-graft authorities in a southern Chinese city are questioning mistresses of suspected corrupt officials and finding the information is paying off prettily, state media said on Thursday.
Mistresses and "second wives" are common among government officials and businessmen in China and are often blamed for driving officials to seek money through bribes or other abuses of power.
"At least 80 percent of corrupt officials exposed in Dongguan had mistresses who gave us important information that we did not possess," Zhou Yuefeng, deputy director of the industrial city's anti-graft bureau told the China Daily.
He declined to give details.
Besides having mistresses, Zhou said receiving bribes in the form of share dividends was also common among corrupt officials in Dongguan.
"Our focus this year will be on the taxation and medical departments." he said. "However, that doesn't mean we won't be looking at corruption in other areas."
A report by China's top prosecutor's office last year said that of 16 provincial-level officials punished for serious graft in the previous five years, most were involved in "trading power for sex," along with gambling, money-laundering and shady land sales to developers.
(Editing by David Fox)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Friday, June 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Shocking times for Aussie broadband over powerline...
Communications - ZDNet Australia David Braue, ZDNet.com.au
05 March 2008. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but Australian utilities' recent abandonment of broadband over powerline (BPL) technology has all but sealed the fate of a technology that was once hoped to bring high-speed data to every corner of Australia.
Enthusiasm for BPL grew out of the telecommunications industry slump of 2003, as technology providers looked for new ways of building revenue and realised that electricity operators already had access to wires running into every home and business premise in their coverage areas. Why not, they reasoned, use those wires to bring broadband into areas where thinner, older copper local loop wiring just wasn't up to the task of carrying ADSL reliably?
Commercial trials quickly ensued, and by 2004 it seemed that success in the trials would see the technology used to bring blazing-fast Internet to both metropolitan and rural consumers at reasonable rates. The will was there, and the equipment readily available -- but somewhere along the way, the lights seem to have just gone out.
by 2004 it seemed that success in the trials would see the technology used to bring blazing-fast Internet to both metropolitan and rural consumers at reasonable rates.
Wires everywhere, BPL nowhere?
BPL technology is based around two key components: signal injectors, which the utilities deploy as an Internet gateway on their end of the line; and customer premises equipment that plugs into any powerpoint in a home or office.
By stuffing the data into a specific range of frequencies that wouldn't interfere with normal electricity carriage, the BPL equipment would allow data to run across the thousands of kilometres of high-voltage electrical lines that score the countryside.
This was the approach to be trialled by Tasmanian electricity company Aurora Energy, which was the first Australian utility to jump onboard. Three-month early field trials were expanded into ongoing tests in Burnie and Hobart late in 2005, and two years of ongoing testing suggested the technology certainly had a future. Similar enthusiasm was shared by the Woomera Consortium group, NSW-based Energy Australia, Melbourne-Based SP AusNet and Canberra-based Country Energy, all of which followed Aurora's lead by running trials of BPL technology with small groups of customers in their coverage areas.
Things looked good at first: SP AusNet, in particular, was optimistic about the technology after concluding a year-long BPL trial, which last August saw BPL rolled out to a number of premises in rural Mount Beauty, Victoria.
At the time, Reynard Smith, the company's manager for commercial development, remarked that the technology showed "a lot of potential... In the places where it worked well, we're very happy." This year, however, Smith is more reserved, saying only that the trial had been shut down and that the company is "assessing [BPL] in line with other options."
Less ambiguous was Aurora Energy, which announced in November that it was pulling out of BPL entirely. This was a significant change in strategy for the company, for which BPL would have seemed particularly appropriate given the relatively low density of broadband in the island state.
Aurora declined to offer further comment on the decision other than that outlined in a press release at the time. In that release, CEO Dr Peter Davis cited "cost pressures and service demands for Aurora's electricity business" that had seen BPL ditched after a six-month strategic review. Aurora would, Davis said, focus its efforts on electricity distribution and retailing, and "carefully selected telecommunications activities."
Those activities, it now appears, revolve around fibre-optic infrastructure. Aurora has dissolved its relationship with local retailer TasTel and telco partner AAPT, instead focusing its efforts on building fibre-optic network capacity to be resold to government and commercial users. This approach, presumably, offers more commercial certainty than the technically successful but commercially questionable BPL technology.
Death of a champion
Because of its easy implementation and far reach -- not to mention broadband speeds of up to 200Mbps -- BPL was once held as the Great White Hope of Australian telecommunications. SP AusNet's success in Mount Beauty, a remote town of around 1,700 people that suffers from the tyranny of distance as much as most other small rural towns, added credence to the argument that BPL could finally bring viable broadband to rural areas where other technologies were failing.
BPL was once held as the Great White Hope of Australian telecommunications
Commercial reality wasn't to have it that way, however: the assistance provided by the government's Broadband Connect program, as well as the rapidly evolving broadband market, meant that BPL quickly lost its potentially significant commercial edge.
The case for BPL wasn't helped, either, by rollout costs that would have quickly spiralled due to the need for a repeater station to be installed every kilometre along Australia's tens of thousands of kilometres of transmission lines. Interference with ham and emergency services radios was a well-documented side effect of BPL, although frequency 'notching' techniques were successfully introduced to avoid that problem.
Throw in the need for utilities to manage the telecoms infrastructure and enlist a carrier partner -- one that would also want a cut of the pie -- and it's clear that BPL, despite its promise and technical feasibility, is no longer compelling enough to be attractive for Australian utilities. Neither, apparently, is the related idea of a 'smart grid' -- an offshoot of BPL that was to use the pervasive data connectivity to both read and control meters regulating usage of electricity in homes.
Although utilities testing BPL remained hopeful about the technology's promise even at the beginning of this financial year, the mood in 2008 is decidedly less optimistic. A Country Energy spokesperson said that company's trial in Queanbeyan and Jerrabomberra was "still active" but wouldn't commit to any concrete plans for deployment.
Utilities are just not risk taking organisations
"The timescale, unfortunately, just keeps moving out," he explained. None of this comes as any surprise to telecommunications analyst Paul Budde, who saw BPL running out of steam a while ago. Because of the need to bring on telecommunications partners, for example, utilities can never own, manage and profit from BPL on their own, particularly given the cutthroat nature of the telecommunications market.
"The reality is that utilities are not telcos, and that they are risk adverse," Budde explains. "They might want to make their infrastructure available to the telcos, and that goes all the way to fibre-optic cabling. But none of the CEOs of the utilities is eager to start a fight with the telcos; you need very strong leadership [to make that happen], and utilities are just not risk taking organisations."
05 March 2008. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but Australian utilities' recent abandonment of broadband over powerline (BPL) technology has all but sealed the fate of a technology that was once hoped to bring high-speed data to every corner of Australia.
Enthusiasm for BPL grew out of the telecommunications industry slump of 2003, as technology providers looked for new ways of building revenue and realised that electricity operators already had access to wires running into every home and business premise in their coverage areas. Why not, they reasoned, use those wires to bring broadband into areas where thinner, older copper local loop wiring just wasn't up to the task of carrying ADSL reliably?
Commercial trials quickly ensued, and by 2004 it seemed that success in the trials would see the technology used to bring blazing-fast Internet to both metropolitan and rural consumers at reasonable rates. The will was there, and the equipment readily available -- but somewhere along the way, the lights seem to have just gone out.
by 2004 it seemed that success in the trials would see the technology used to bring blazing-fast Internet to both metropolitan and rural consumers at reasonable rates.
Wires everywhere, BPL nowhere?
BPL technology is based around two key components: signal injectors, which the utilities deploy as an Internet gateway on their end of the line; and customer premises equipment that plugs into any powerpoint in a home or office.
By stuffing the data into a specific range of frequencies that wouldn't interfere with normal electricity carriage, the BPL equipment would allow data to run across the thousands of kilometres of high-voltage electrical lines that score the countryside.
This was the approach to be trialled by Tasmanian electricity company Aurora Energy, which was the first Australian utility to jump onboard. Three-month early field trials were expanded into ongoing tests in Burnie and Hobart late in 2005, and two years of ongoing testing suggested the technology certainly had a future. Similar enthusiasm was shared by the Woomera Consortium group, NSW-based Energy Australia, Melbourne-Based SP AusNet and Canberra-based Country Energy, all of which followed Aurora's lead by running trials of BPL technology with small groups of customers in their coverage areas.
Things looked good at first: SP AusNet, in particular, was optimistic about the technology after concluding a year-long BPL trial, which last August saw BPL rolled out to a number of premises in rural Mount Beauty, Victoria.
At the time, Reynard Smith, the company's manager for commercial development, remarked that the technology showed "a lot of potential... In the places where it worked well, we're very happy." This year, however, Smith is more reserved, saying only that the trial had been shut down and that the company is "assessing [BPL] in line with other options."
Less ambiguous was Aurora Energy, which announced in November that it was pulling out of BPL entirely. This was a significant change in strategy for the company, for which BPL would have seemed particularly appropriate given the relatively low density of broadband in the island state.
Aurora declined to offer further comment on the decision other than that outlined in a press release at the time. In that release, CEO Dr Peter Davis cited "cost pressures and service demands for Aurora's electricity business" that had seen BPL ditched after a six-month strategic review. Aurora would, Davis said, focus its efforts on electricity distribution and retailing, and "carefully selected telecommunications activities."
Those activities, it now appears, revolve around fibre-optic infrastructure. Aurora has dissolved its relationship with local retailer TasTel and telco partner AAPT, instead focusing its efforts on building fibre-optic network capacity to be resold to government and commercial users. This approach, presumably, offers more commercial certainty than the technically successful but commercially questionable BPL technology.
Death of a champion
Because of its easy implementation and far reach -- not to mention broadband speeds of up to 200Mbps -- BPL was once held as the Great White Hope of Australian telecommunications. SP AusNet's success in Mount Beauty, a remote town of around 1,700 people that suffers from the tyranny of distance as much as most other small rural towns, added credence to the argument that BPL could finally bring viable broadband to rural areas where other technologies were failing.
BPL was once held as the Great White Hope of Australian telecommunications
Commercial reality wasn't to have it that way, however: the assistance provided by the government's Broadband Connect program, as well as the rapidly evolving broadband market, meant that BPL quickly lost its potentially significant commercial edge.
The case for BPL wasn't helped, either, by rollout costs that would have quickly spiralled due to the need for a repeater station to be installed every kilometre along Australia's tens of thousands of kilometres of transmission lines. Interference with ham and emergency services radios was a well-documented side effect of BPL, although frequency 'notching' techniques were successfully introduced to avoid that problem.
Throw in the need for utilities to manage the telecoms infrastructure and enlist a carrier partner -- one that would also want a cut of the pie -- and it's clear that BPL, despite its promise and technical feasibility, is no longer compelling enough to be attractive for Australian utilities. Neither, apparently, is the related idea of a 'smart grid' -- an offshoot of BPL that was to use the pervasive data connectivity to both read and control meters regulating usage of electricity in homes.
Although utilities testing BPL remained hopeful about the technology's promise even at the beginning of this financial year, the mood in 2008 is decidedly less optimistic. A Country Energy spokesperson said that company's trial in Queanbeyan and Jerrabomberra was "still active" but wouldn't commit to any concrete plans for deployment.
Utilities are just not risk taking organisations
"The timescale, unfortunately, just keeps moving out," he explained. None of this comes as any surprise to telecommunications analyst Paul Budde, who saw BPL running out of steam a while ago. Because of the need to bring on telecommunications partners, for example, utilities can never own, manage and profit from BPL on their own, particularly given the cutthroat nature of the telecommunications market.
"The reality is that utilities are not telcos, and that they are risk adverse," Budde explains. "They might want to make their infrastructure available to the telcos, and that goes all the way to fibre-optic cabling. But none of the CEOs of the utilities is eager to start a fight with the telcos; you need very strong leadership [to make that happen], and utilities are just not risk taking organisations."
Get to know Skype 4.0 beta...
Cool Web apps for everyone - CNET By Jessica Dolcourt
June 17, 2008 8:08 It has been a while since a major Skype release, and on Wednesday, the eBay-owned VoIP communication service will issue the first of several planned version 4.0 beta builds for Windows that are anticipated to drop over the next few months.
The biggest changes to come with Skype 4.0 beta (download) are visual and organizational. For the first time, the program contains complete prompts for running sound and Webcam checks within the program set-up. After two failed tests buffered by common troubleshooting suggestions, Skype will recommend hardware--like headsets and a Webcam--to reverse incompatibility errors.
Redesigned interface
Skype 4.0 beta's redesigned interface may also get you blinking. Compared with its stable cousin, the new Skype beta's GUI has overflowed its banks, replacing tabs in the once-narrow interface with a second pane tacked on to the right. Four or five functions are flattened into this single window in an effort to make communications other than the voice chat staple easier to find and use. To wit, there's an IM bar deposited at the bottom of the communications pane and large buttons that prompt voice and video calls. Video calls are large by default, filling the program's communication activity pane.
Skype Out, the service offering competitive international rates for Skype users calling contacts' landlines instead of their computers, has also been chiseled out, by a large call-to-action button on the navigation bar. The button just below it opens a directory for finding people, businesses, and chat rooms. The toggle bar tucked away at the top switches from saved chat conversations to the contacts view, and rounds out the new additions.
Some functionality, like Skype Prime, will arrive in later builds.
Still more to come...
Though there may be a placeholder for it, not every function in this first beta is live. The shop for Skype-approved hardware, while available from Skype.com, will not be activated in this iteration, nor will be the service on real-time advice, called Skype Prime. Automatic redial, call transferring, video presentations, and integration with Outlook contacts are also scheduled for roll-out in later builds.
The spread-out interface of Skype 4.0 beta for Windows will definitely take some getting used to, especially as it abandons the client's traditionally nimble, IM-styled build. However, it does succeed in calling out a wider array of communication services. This may give the Luxembourg-headquartered company a chance to deemphasize VoIP as its core competency and mark out new territory in Internet video, collaboration tools, and entertainment services.
As ambitious as Skype's new look and capabilities are, Mike Bartlett, the program's Windows product manager, confessed during our briefing that this design and the newly introduced features will be closely monitored for user backlash. It's likely that strong feedback from Skype's 309 million registered users will leave an impression on Skype 4.0 beta continues to take shape in the upcoming months.
Originally posted at The Daily Download
June 17, 2008 8:08 It has been a while since a major Skype release, and on Wednesday, the eBay-owned VoIP communication service will issue the first of several planned version 4.0 beta builds for Windows that are anticipated to drop over the next few months.
The biggest changes to come with Skype 4.0 beta (download) are visual and organizational. For the first time, the program contains complete prompts for running sound and Webcam checks within the program set-up. After two failed tests buffered by common troubleshooting suggestions, Skype will recommend hardware--like headsets and a Webcam--to reverse incompatibility errors.
Redesigned interface
Skype 4.0 beta's redesigned interface may also get you blinking. Compared with its stable cousin, the new Skype beta's GUI has overflowed its banks, replacing tabs in the once-narrow interface with a second pane tacked on to the right. Four or five functions are flattened into this single window in an effort to make communications other than the voice chat staple easier to find and use. To wit, there's an IM bar deposited at the bottom of the communications pane and large buttons that prompt voice and video calls. Video calls are large by default, filling the program's communication activity pane.
Skype Out, the service offering competitive international rates for Skype users calling contacts' landlines instead of their computers, has also been chiseled out, by a large call-to-action button on the navigation bar. The button just below it opens a directory for finding people, businesses, and chat rooms. The toggle bar tucked away at the top switches from saved chat conversations to the contacts view, and rounds out the new additions.
Some functionality, like Skype Prime, will arrive in later builds.
Still more to come...
Though there may be a placeholder for it, not every function in this first beta is live. The shop for Skype-approved hardware, while available from Skype.com, will not be activated in this iteration, nor will be the service on real-time advice, called Skype Prime. Automatic redial, call transferring, video presentations, and integration with Outlook contacts are also scheduled for roll-out in later builds.
The spread-out interface of Skype 4.0 beta for Windows will definitely take some getting used to, especially as it abandons the client's traditionally nimble, IM-styled build. However, it does succeed in calling out a wider array of communication services. This may give the Luxembourg-headquartered company a chance to deemphasize VoIP as its core competency and mark out new territory in Internet video, collaboration tools, and entertainment services.
As ambitious as Skype's new look and capabilities are, Mike Bartlett, the program's Windows product manager, confessed during our briefing that this design and the newly introduced features will be closely monitored for user backlash. It's likely that strong feedback from Skype's 309 million registered users will leave an impression on Skype 4.0 beta continues to take shape in the upcoming months.
Originally posted at The Daily Download
Monday, June 23, 2008
Microsoft in 'trouble' as Bill Gates leaves...
ZDNet Australia
23 June 2008. A Harvard University dropout who ushered in the home computer age and made billions of dollars along the way will have his last official day of work at Microsoft on 27 June.
Three people will essentially fill the void left behind when Bill Gates retires from the company he and friend Paul Allen co-founded in 1975.
Since Gates began his transition from leading Microsoft to heading his personally-bankrolled charity, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, his job as chief software architect has been handled by Ray Ozzie.
Craig Mundie inherited Gates' chief research and strategy officer duties, while former Harvard classmate Steve Ballmer became chief executive officer at the Seattle-based software colossus.
Gates left Harvard after two years to found the firm that became global powerhouse Microsoft. He later received honorary degrees from Harvard and other universities.
After retiring, Gates will remain chairman of the Microsoft board of directors and its largest shareholder.
"I don't think anything is going to drastically change the day he leaves," said Matt Rosoff of the private analyst firm Directions On Microsoft.
"If he thinks something is important and tells Steve Ballmer, Ballmer will listen to him."
Still, Gates' bespectacled nerdish visage is an integral part of Microsoft's image and his departure is symbolic, according to analysts.
"The challenge Microsoft has when the founder departs is remembering its heart," said analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.
"At some point the firm has to take the essence of what made Bill Gates successful and make sure that is preserved. Whether it is a company or a person, once you've lost your heart there isn't much left but a shell."
Analysts say there are signs Microsoft has been struggling since Gates stepped away from managing operations several years ago.
The Windows and Office software on which its fortune is built have stumbled.
Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system released in January of 2007 has flopped with customers, many of whom are clinging to its predecessor Windows XP.
"They are in trouble on the desktop (computer software)," Enderle said. "Microsoft started as a desktop vendor and suddenly it is its weakness."
Meanwhile, Apple's Macintosh computers have been gaining popularity.
While Windows is still used on 90 per cent of the world's computers, Macintosh computers using Apple operating systems have grown rapidly.
The software giant also sees its bottom line threatened by Google, which offers free online programs that compete with Office and other packaged software sold by Microsoft.
Microsoft failed in a recent bid to buy Yahoo for nearly US$50 billion in order to combine online resources to better battle Google in the internet search and advertising market.
Enderle said he didn't see Gates' fingers in the attempted takeover, and Gates was likely to have been among board members who backed pulling the plug on acquisition talks.
Microsoft's server and tools division is its most profitable unit. It's entertainment unit, which sells Xbox video game consoles and gaming software, has yet to make a profit.
"You could see Microsoft struggling after Bill Gates steps out of day-to-day roles," Enderle said.
"A founder takes such a larger-than-life role and directs a company in very subtle ways that are often forgotten when a founder leaves. That gap, for a lot of companies, has been almost terminal."
23 June 2008. A Harvard University dropout who ushered in the home computer age and made billions of dollars along the way will have his last official day of work at Microsoft on 27 June.
Three people will essentially fill the void left behind when Bill Gates retires from the company he and friend Paul Allen co-founded in 1975.
Since Gates began his transition from leading Microsoft to heading his personally-bankrolled charity, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, his job as chief software architect has been handled by Ray Ozzie.
Craig Mundie inherited Gates' chief research and strategy officer duties, while former Harvard classmate Steve Ballmer became chief executive officer at the Seattle-based software colossus.
Gates left Harvard after two years to found the firm that became global powerhouse Microsoft. He later received honorary degrees from Harvard and other universities.
After retiring, Gates will remain chairman of the Microsoft board of directors and its largest shareholder.
"I don't think anything is going to drastically change the day he leaves," said Matt Rosoff of the private analyst firm Directions On Microsoft.
"If he thinks something is important and tells Steve Ballmer, Ballmer will listen to him."
Still, Gates' bespectacled nerdish visage is an integral part of Microsoft's image and his departure is symbolic, according to analysts.
"The challenge Microsoft has when the founder departs is remembering its heart," said analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.
"At some point the firm has to take the essence of what made Bill Gates successful and make sure that is preserved. Whether it is a company or a person, once you've lost your heart there isn't much left but a shell."
Analysts say there are signs Microsoft has been struggling since Gates stepped away from managing operations several years ago.
The Windows and Office software on which its fortune is built have stumbled.
Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system released in January of 2007 has flopped with customers, many of whom are clinging to its predecessor Windows XP.
"They are in trouble on the desktop (computer software)," Enderle said. "Microsoft started as a desktop vendor and suddenly it is its weakness."
Meanwhile, Apple's Macintosh computers have been gaining popularity.
While Windows is still used on 90 per cent of the world's computers, Macintosh computers using Apple operating systems have grown rapidly.
The software giant also sees its bottom line threatened by Google, which offers free online programs that compete with Office and other packaged software sold by Microsoft.
Microsoft failed in a recent bid to buy Yahoo for nearly US$50 billion in order to combine online resources to better battle Google in the internet search and advertising market.
Enderle said he didn't see Gates' fingers in the attempted takeover, and Gates was likely to have been among board members who backed pulling the plug on acquisition talks.
Microsoft's server and tools division is its most profitable unit. It's entertainment unit, which sells Xbox video game consoles and gaming software, has yet to make a profit.
"You could see Microsoft struggling after Bill Gates steps out of day-to-day roles," Enderle said.
"A founder takes such a larger-than-life role and directs a company in very subtle ways that are often forgotten when a founder leaves. That gap, for a lot of companies, has been almost terminal."
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Wine na vijftien jaar ontkurkt...
Techworld.nl Bij Ferry Waterkamp
Woensdag 18 juni 2008Na een ontwikkelperiode van maar liefst vijftien jaar is gisteren eindelijk de definitieve 1.0-versie onthuld van de emulatiesoftware Wine.
Wine (Wine is not an emulator) is een applicatie die het mogelijk maakt om Windows-applicaties op andere besturingssystemen te draaien, waaronder versies van Linux, Unix en Mac OS X. Hiervoor is het niet nodig om lokaal Windows te installeren wat bij virtualisatiesoftware wel het geval is.
De ontwikkeling van Wine begon al in 1993 toen Windows 3.1 breed beschikbaar kwam. De eerste versies draaiden Windows 3.1-applicaties op Linux. Het kaartspelletjes Solitaire was het eerste programma dat succesvol draaide met Wine. Daarna hadden de ontwikkelaars echter de grootste moeite om de veranderingen in Windows bij te benen. Zo moest na de introductie van XP de ondersteuning voor Windows-componenten als COM (Common Object Model) en OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) worden herschreven.
Sinds 2005 zit het pakket in de bètafase, maar is sinds vorig jaar redelijk stabiel te noemen. De definitieve versie kan nu worden gedownload van de site van Wine. Volgens de ontwikkelaars is de compatibiliteit met Windows nog steeds niet perfect. Desondanks zouden 'duizenden applicaties' goed moeten werken.
Woensdag 18 juni 2008Na een ontwikkelperiode van maar liefst vijftien jaar is gisteren eindelijk de definitieve 1.0-versie onthuld van de emulatiesoftware Wine.
Wine (Wine is not an emulator) is een applicatie die het mogelijk maakt om Windows-applicaties op andere besturingssystemen te draaien, waaronder versies van Linux, Unix en Mac OS X. Hiervoor is het niet nodig om lokaal Windows te installeren wat bij virtualisatiesoftware wel het geval is.
De ontwikkeling van Wine begon al in 1993 toen Windows 3.1 breed beschikbaar kwam. De eerste versies draaiden Windows 3.1-applicaties op Linux. Het kaartspelletjes Solitaire was het eerste programma dat succesvol draaide met Wine. Daarna hadden de ontwikkelaars echter de grootste moeite om de veranderingen in Windows bij te benen. Zo moest na de introductie van XP de ondersteuning voor Windows-componenten als COM (Common Object Model) en OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) worden herschreven.
Sinds 2005 zit het pakket in de bètafase, maar is sinds vorig jaar redelijk stabiel te noemen. De definitieve versie kan nu worden gedownload van de site van Wine. Volgens de ontwikkelaars is de compatibiliteit met Windows nog steeds niet perfect. Desondanks zouden 'duizenden applicaties' goed moeten werken.
Slimmer soprano back, says looks count in opera...
Reuters By Mike Collett-White
Tue Jun 17, 2008. LONDON (Reuters) - Slimmed-down soprano Deborah Voigt, back at London's Covent Garden four years after bosses fired her for being too fat, says opera, like other forms of entertainment, is increasingly obsessed with looks.
The 47-year-old American accepted an invitation from the Royal Opera House to return to the same production she was dropped from in 2004 when the casting director felt she would not suit the "little black dress" he envisaged for the part.
The decision sparked heated debate in the world of opera and beyond about the importance of artists' appearance. Voigt shed 120 pounds with the help of gastric bypass surgery and is back as Ariadne in Richard Strauss's "Ariadne auf Naxos."
Until recently opera had a reputation for casting large and barely mobile men and women as dashing heroes and beautiful queens based purely on the quality of their voice.
The shift in recent years towards good looks as much as talent, epitomized by the popularity of the "popera" genre, reflected the broader world of entertainment, Voigt argued.
"There's no getting around the fact that the face of opera is changing," she told Reuters in her back stage dressing room after the opening night of 'Ariadne'.
"It would be very easy to say, well, it shouldn't matter and in a certain decade it shouldn't have mattered when we didn't have to think about television and there wasn't so much competition for entertainment dollars."
Opera would have to draw the line somewhere, however.
"I'm hoping that we don't go so far as to put microphones on soubrette sopranos and have them singing Isolde," she explained, referring to testing Wagnerian roles such as that in "Tristan und Isolde" that Voigt recently sang at the Met in New York.
"I don't think that would be the case. Nonetheless, I think it would be foolish to think that singers don't have to be more concerned about their physique than in decades past."
ANGER, HUMOUR
Voigt said she was initially upset at being dropped by the Royal Opera House, although she now understood she would have looked out of place in the stylized 'Ariadne' production.
To publicize her return, Voigt posted a video on YouTube (http:/uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kQqPauyGiVU) in which she confronts the infamous "little black dress" in a New York hotel. The Royal Opera House's Web site links to the clip.
"We didn't part on the best of terms," the dress says in a man's voice. "It just seemed at the time that we weren't a good fit ... I realized I was wrong. Size doesn't matter."
Voigt said the radical weight-loss program was more a health decision than a knee-jerk reaction to her rejection, and her subsequent weight loss has opened up new opportunities.
It does require new vocal techniques, however.
"It occurred to me ... that I hadn't sung Ariadne since I was 120 pounds heavier, and it does feel different and I have to adjust technically, muscularly to how I approach the role."
That will not stop her attempting more "heavy" roles in the future like Isolde and other female Wagnerian leads, she added.
"I'm taking on really heavy roles and they cost more. Doing Tristan and Isolde is a really expensive night in terms of what it costs you physically and emotionally," she said.
"There is certainly going to be much more of Wagner and dramatic repertoire in the future."
(To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog "Fan Fare" online at http:/blogs.reuters.com/fanfare)
(Editing by Paul Casciato)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Tue Jun 17, 2008. LONDON (Reuters) - Slimmed-down soprano Deborah Voigt, back at London's Covent Garden four years after bosses fired her for being too fat, says opera, like other forms of entertainment, is increasingly obsessed with looks.The 47-year-old American accepted an invitation from the Royal Opera House to return to the same production she was dropped from in 2004 when the casting director felt she would not suit the "little black dress" he envisaged for the part.
The decision sparked heated debate in the world of opera and beyond about the importance of artists' appearance. Voigt shed 120 pounds with the help of gastric bypass surgery and is back as Ariadne in Richard Strauss's "Ariadne auf Naxos."
Until recently opera had a reputation for casting large and barely mobile men and women as dashing heroes and beautiful queens based purely on the quality of their voice.
The shift in recent years towards good looks as much as talent, epitomized by the popularity of the "popera" genre, reflected the broader world of entertainment, Voigt argued.
"There's no getting around the fact that the face of opera is changing," she told Reuters in her back stage dressing room after the opening night of 'Ariadne'.
"It would be very easy to say, well, it shouldn't matter and in a certain decade it shouldn't have mattered when we didn't have to think about television and there wasn't so much competition for entertainment dollars."
Opera would have to draw the line somewhere, however.
"I'm hoping that we don't go so far as to put microphones on soubrette sopranos and have them singing Isolde," she explained, referring to testing Wagnerian roles such as that in "Tristan und Isolde" that Voigt recently sang at the Met in New York.
"I don't think that would be the case. Nonetheless, I think it would be foolish to think that singers don't have to be more concerned about their physique than in decades past."
ANGER, HUMOUR
Voigt said she was initially upset at being dropped by the Royal Opera House, although she now understood she would have looked out of place in the stylized 'Ariadne' production.
To publicize her return, Voigt posted a video on YouTube (http:/uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kQqPauyGiVU) in which she confronts the infamous "little black dress" in a New York hotel. The Royal Opera House's Web site links to the clip.
"We didn't part on the best of terms," the dress says in a man's voice. "It just seemed at the time that we weren't a good fit ... I realized I was wrong. Size doesn't matter."
Voigt said the radical weight-loss program was more a health decision than a knee-jerk reaction to her rejection, and her subsequent weight loss has opened up new opportunities.
It does require new vocal techniques, however.
"It occurred to me ... that I hadn't sung Ariadne since I was 120 pounds heavier, and it does feel different and I have to adjust technically, muscularly to how I approach the role."
That will not stop her attempting more "heavy" roles in the future like Isolde and other female Wagnerian leads, she added.
"I'm taking on really heavy roles and they cost more. Doing Tristan and Isolde is a really expensive night in terms of what it costs you physically and emotionally," she said.
"There is certainly going to be much more of Wagner and dramatic repertoire in the future."
(To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog "Fan Fare" online at http:/blogs.reuters.com/fanfare)
(Editing by Paul Casciato)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Streaking to victory in topless match | U.S. | Reuters
Reuters Karin Strohecker
Mon Jun 16, 2008. VIENNA (Reuters) - Whether it has any bearing on Monday's crunch Euro 2008 match between the two countries is debatable but Austria drew first blood on Sunday when their topless women's soccer team beat Germany 10-5.
The traditional swapping of shirts afterwards was not an option as the six-a-side teams wore nothing but thongs, with the national colors painted on to their bare skin.
The football may not have been of the highest quality but that did not temper the enthusiasm of a mostly male crowd boosted by a sizeable media presence only too happy to desert Euro 2008 training for an hour or two.
The match was organized by a chat room website.
Austria were delighted with a victory they hoped would be a morale-booster for their male counterparts but was not without its serious side.
"I hope our men will take heart from that tomorrow. We played pretty hard, we even had some injuries, like I for example broke my toe nail," 29-year-old bank employee Doris Fastenmeir told Reuters.
The Germans took defeat sportingly and joined their opponents for alcopops and dancing at a beach club alongside the Danube.
"I was supposed to hold the balls but I really have no idea how to do that," said German keeper Jana Bach.
"Maybe it is because I am not all that much into soccer. I am more into shoes to be honest."
The verdict of the onlookers?
"They might have to work on their technique a bit but it was definitely a rather pleasant game to watch and a very nice version of the 'beautiful game'," said Rolf Hansen from Berlin.
(Editing by Jon Bramley and Tony Jimenez)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Mon Jun 16, 2008. VIENNA (Reuters) - Whether it has any bearing on Monday's crunch Euro 2008 match between the two countries is debatable but Austria drew first blood on Sunday when their topless women's soccer team beat Germany 10-5.
The traditional swapping of shirts afterwards was not an option as the six-a-side teams wore nothing but thongs, with the national colors painted on to their bare skin.
The football may not have been of the highest quality but that did not temper the enthusiasm of a mostly male crowd boosted by a sizeable media presence only too happy to desert Euro 2008 training for an hour or two.
The match was organized by a chat room website.
Austria were delighted with a victory they hoped would be a morale-booster for their male counterparts but was not without its serious side.
"I hope our men will take heart from that tomorrow. We played pretty hard, we even had some injuries, like I for example broke my toe nail," 29-year-old bank employee Doris Fastenmeir told Reuters.
The Germans took defeat sportingly and joined their opponents for alcopops and dancing at a beach club alongside the Danube.
"I was supposed to hold the balls but I really have no idea how to do that," said German keeper Jana Bach.
"Maybe it is because I am not all that much into soccer. I am more into shoes to be honest."
The verdict of the onlookers?
"They might have to work on their technique a bit but it was definitely a rather pleasant game to watch and a very nice version of the 'beautiful game'," said Rolf Hansen from Berlin.
(Editing by Jon Bramley and Tony Jimenez)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Japan makes robot girlfriend for lonely men...
Technology Reuters
Tue Jun 17, 2008. TOKYO (Reuters) - She is big-busted, petite, very friendly, and she runs on batteries.
A Japanese firm has produced a 38 cm (15 inch) tall robotic girlfriend that kisses on command, to go on sale in September for around $175, with a target market of lonely adult men.
Using her infrared sensors and battery power, the diminutive damsel named "EMA" puckers up for nearby human heads, entering what designers call its "love mode".
"Strong, tough and battle-ready are some of the words often associated with robots, but we wanted to break that stereotype and provide a robot that's sweet and interactive," said Minako Sakanoue, a spokeswoman for the maker, Sega Toys.
"She's very lovable and though she's not a human, she can act like a real girlfriend."
EMA, which stands for Eternal Maiden Actualization, can also hand out business cards, sing and dance, with Sega hoping to sell 10,000 in the first year.
Japan, home to almost half the world's 800,000 industrial robots, envisions a $10-billion market for artificial intelligence in a decade.
(Reporting by Chika Osaka; writing by Rodney Joyce, editing by Miral Fahmy)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Tue Jun 17, 2008. TOKYO (Reuters) - She is big-busted, petite, very friendly, and she runs on batteries.A Japanese firm has produced a 38 cm (15 inch) tall robotic girlfriend that kisses on command, to go on sale in September for around $175, with a target market of lonely adult men.
Using her infrared sensors and battery power, the diminutive damsel named "EMA" puckers up for nearby human heads, entering what designers call its "love mode".
"Strong, tough and battle-ready are some of the words often associated with robots, but we wanted to break that stereotype and provide a robot that's sweet and interactive," said Minako Sakanoue, a spokeswoman for the maker, Sega Toys.
"She's very lovable and though she's not a human, she can act like a real girlfriend."
EMA, which stands for Eternal Maiden Actualization, can also hand out business cards, sing and dance, with Sega hoping to sell 10,000 in the first year.
Japan, home to almost half the world's 800,000 industrial robots, envisions a $10-billion market for artificial intelligence in a decade.
(Reporting by Chika Osaka; writing by Rodney Joyce, editing by Miral Fahmy)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Windows XP: The end is nigh...
ZDNet Australia Ina Fried, CNET News.com
17 June 2008. After a long-announced transition, 30 June marks the end of an era at Microsoft — that of Windows XP. As of 30 June, large PC makers will no longer be able to sell Windows XP-based PCs on mainstream notebooks and desktops. Retailers will also have only until their current supply is exhausted to sell boxed copies of the operating system.
Despite a brief "Save XP" movement (and continued criticism of Windows Vista from many corners), Microsoft is not going to change the deadline, which is now just two weeks away.
Although XP will disappear as an option for most computer buyers, the operating system will live on in several key ways.
XP will be available on PCs from smaller computer makers known as "system builders" until 31 January, 2009.
XP will be available for so-called ultra-low-cost-PCs until 30 June, 2010.
The low-end Windows XP Starter Edition will continue to be available in emerging markets until 30 June, 2010.
Windows Vista Ultimate and Windows Vista Business come with downgrade rights. Some computer makers are using this option to offer machines that appear as Windows XP products but are "factory downgraded" to XP. The downside is that only pricier versions of Vista qualify, but the benefit is that the machines come with the option to eventually move to Vista for no added fee. Microsoft says it will continue to make XP discs available to computer makers to enable downgrade rights through at least 31 January, 2009.
Microsoft is not ending support for Windows XP. Mainstream support continues until 2009, while extended support is not due to end until April 2014.
17 June 2008. After a long-announced transition, 30 June marks the end of an era at Microsoft — that of Windows XP. As of 30 June, large PC makers will no longer be able to sell Windows XP-based PCs on mainstream notebooks and desktops. Retailers will also have only until their current supply is exhausted to sell boxed copies of the operating system.
Despite a brief "Save XP" movement (and continued criticism of Windows Vista from many corners), Microsoft is not going to change the deadline, which is now just two weeks away.
Although XP will disappear as an option for most computer buyers, the operating system will live on in several key ways.
XP will be available on PCs from smaller computer makers known as "system builders" until 31 January, 2009.
XP will be available for so-called ultra-low-cost-PCs until 30 June, 2010.
The low-end Windows XP Starter Edition will continue to be available in emerging markets until 30 June, 2010.
Windows Vista Ultimate and Windows Vista Business come with downgrade rights. Some computer makers are using this option to offer machines that appear as Windows XP products but are "factory downgraded" to XP. The downside is that only pricier versions of Vista qualify, but the benefit is that the machines come with the option to eventually move to Vista for no added fee. Microsoft says it will continue to make XP discs available to computer makers to enable downgrade rights through at least 31 January, 2009.
Microsoft is not ending support for Windows XP. Mainstream support continues until 2009, while extended support is not due to end until April 2014.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
France to block child pornography websites...
Reuters
Tue Jun 10, 2008. PARIS (Reuters) - France plans to use the help of Internet service providers to block websites which disseminate child pornography, Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said on Tuesday.
In a speech on fighting cybercrime, Alliot-Marie said Internet users would from September be able to flag sites which carried child pornography, incitement to terrorism and racial hatred, or attempted fraud.
This real-time information would help the French state to draw up a blacklist of sites that disseminated child pornography which it would transmit to Internet service providers, who have agreed to block such sites, Alliot-Marie said.
"It is not a question of creating a Big Brother on the Internet," she said in the speech.
"What I am responsible for as Interior Minister is to protect children and their families from pedophiles."
Alliot-Marie said the French state would pass on information about any illegal sites which were run from overseas to the host countries, EU police agency Europol, or to international police agency Interpol.
(Reporting by Swaha Pattanaik; Editing by Stephen Weeks)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Tue Jun 10, 2008. PARIS (Reuters) - France plans to use the help of Internet service providers to block websites which disseminate child pornography, Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said on Tuesday.In a speech on fighting cybercrime, Alliot-Marie said Internet users would from September be able to flag sites which carried child pornography, incitement to terrorism and racial hatred, or attempted fraud.
This real-time information would help the French state to draw up a blacklist of sites that disseminated child pornography which it would transmit to Internet service providers, who have agreed to block such sites, Alliot-Marie said.
"It is not a question of creating a Big Brother on the Internet," she said in the speech.
"What I am responsible for as Interior Minister is to protect children and their families from pedophiles."
Alliot-Marie said the French state would pass on information about any illegal sites which were run from overseas to the host countries, EU police agency Europol, or to international police agency Interpol.
(Reporting by Swaha Pattanaik; Editing by Stephen Weeks)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
XP Service Pack 3: not yet ready for prime time...
By Susan Bradley
Patch Watch, June 5, 2008 The growing list of XP SP3-related glitches being encountered by users should give pause to anyone thinking of downloading and installing the update.
If you've kept XP patched from week to week, there's presently no clear advantage to implementing the OS's latest service pack, though you'll want to do so eventually.
When should you install XP Service Pack 3?
Since its initial release a little over a month ago — as I reported in last week's special news update — XP Service Pack 3 has been plagued with reports of problems among early adopters. Considering that the service pack's most important enhancements relate to computers on corporate networks, you may be wondering whether you need XP SP3 at all.
It comes down to a question of support: Microsoft supports each service pack for two years following the release of its successor. Thus in the spring of 2010, XP SP3 will be the only XP service pack that Microsoft will support. In addition, Microsoft has stated it will offer free support for those facing XP SP3 installation issues through April 2009.
If you have already installed XP SP3 and haven't experienced any problems related to AMD processors, Norton AntiVirus's SystemProtect, or any other service-pack glitch, you don't need to remove SP3. However, if you haven't yet installed XP SP3, hold off.
Instead, scroll down the Windows Update page each Patch Watch Tuesday and choose to install updates that do not include XP SP3. I'm starting to hear more reports of SP3-related driver problems. For example, Microsoft's Knowledge Base article 951822 describes a free hotfix for a problem encountered when using certain models of Citizen or Alps printers after XP SP3 is installed.
Bottom line: if you've installed XP SP3 and your PC is working fine, leave it alone. However, if you suspect SP3 has caused your system to act up, remove it via XP's Add or Remove Programs applet. Finally, if you haven't installed SP3, it's perfectly okay to wait until all the wrinkles are ironed out.
A fix for constant XP reboots
If your Windows XP machine keeps rebooting after you install SP3 and it's not due to the problem with AMD-based systems I reported on earlier, you have a couple of options.
Press F8 just as the system starts and check "Disable automatic restart on System Failure." If this option isn't available, reboot, press F8 again, and select the Safe mode option, which loads Windows without certain drivers.
Once Windows opens in Safe Mode, go to the Add or Remove Programs applet in Control Panel and remove XP Service Pack 3. If that stops the reboots, you know your issue is SP3 related and you need to contact Microsoft about it via the links I list below.
If you have one of the offending AMD machines and you're unable to enter Safe Mode, return to the startup menu by pressing F8 as the system starts and choose the Recovery Console option. Detailed instructions can be found here. When the Recovery Console opens, enter the commands as listed in Jesper Johansson's blog post on XP SP3.
To get help from Microsoft for problems related to XP SP3, follow one of these links
US Support
Canada Support
UK Support
AU Support
Other Locations
Once you're on one of the above pages, click Select a Product, choose Windows XP, and click one of the options for Windows XP Service Pack 3.
Just remember, there's no rush to deploy this service pack.
Patch Watch, June 5, 2008 The growing list of XP SP3-related glitches being encountered by users should give pause to anyone thinking of downloading and installing the update.
If you've kept XP patched from week to week, there's presently no clear advantage to implementing the OS's latest service pack, though you'll want to do so eventually.
When should you install XP Service Pack 3?
Since its initial release a little over a month ago — as I reported in last week's special news update — XP Service Pack 3 has been plagued with reports of problems among early adopters. Considering that the service pack's most important enhancements relate to computers on corporate networks, you may be wondering whether you need XP SP3 at all.
It comes down to a question of support: Microsoft supports each service pack for two years following the release of its successor. Thus in the spring of 2010, XP SP3 will be the only XP service pack that Microsoft will support. In addition, Microsoft has stated it will offer free support for those facing XP SP3 installation issues through April 2009.
If you have already installed XP SP3 and haven't experienced any problems related to AMD processors, Norton AntiVirus's SystemProtect, or any other service-pack glitch, you don't need to remove SP3. However, if you haven't yet installed XP SP3, hold off.
Instead, scroll down the Windows Update page each Patch Watch Tuesday and choose to install updates that do not include XP SP3. I'm starting to hear more reports of SP3-related driver problems. For example, Microsoft's Knowledge Base article 951822 describes a free hotfix for a problem encountered when using certain models of Citizen or Alps printers after XP SP3 is installed.
Bottom line: if you've installed XP SP3 and your PC is working fine, leave it alone. However, if you suspect SP3 has caused your system to act up, remove it via XP's Add or Remove Programs applet. Finally, if you haven't installed SP3, it's perfectly okay to wait until all the wrinkles are ironed out.
A fix for constant XP reboots
If your Windows XP machine keeps rebooting after you install SP3 and it's not due to the problem with AMD-based systems I reported on earlier, you have a couple of options.
Press F8 just as the system starts and check "Disable automatic restart on System Failure." If this option isn't available, reboot, press F8 again, and select the Safe mode option, which loads Windows without certain drivers.
Once Windows opens in Safe Mode, go to the Add or Remove Programs applet in Control Panel and remove XP Service Pack 3. If that stops the reboots, you know your issue is SP3 related and you need to contact Microsoft about it via the links I list below.
If you have one of the offending AMD machines and you're unable to enter Safe Mode, return to the startup menu by pressing F8 as the system starts and choose the Recovery Console option. Detailed instructions can be found here. When the Recovery Console opens, enter the commands as listed in Jesper Johansson's blog post on XP SP3.
To get help from Microsoft for problems related to XP SP3, follow one of these links
US Support
Canada Support
UK Support
AU Support
Other Locations
Once you're on one of the above pages, click Select a Product, choose Windows XP, and click one of the options for Windows XP Service Pack 3.
Just remember, there's no rush to deploy this service pack.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Celebrex shows promise in lung cancer prevention...
Health Reuters By Julie Steenhuysen
Sun Jun 1, 2008. CHICAGO (Reuters) - A high dose of the arthritis drug Celebrex showed early signs that it may help prevent lung cancer in heavy smokers, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.
The Pfizer Inc drug, also known as celecoxib, works by blocking the COX-2 enzyme that causes inflammation, which has been linked with cancer.
A six-month study of 212 current or heavy smokers found a reduction in a specific type of precancerous change in lung cells in people who took a high dose of Celebrex compared with those who took a placebo.
None of the study participants had any heart-related problems such as those with Merck & Co Inc's now withdrawn arthritis drug Vioxx, another COX-2 inhibitor.
"Celebrex was safe and we did not see any cardiovascular events," said Dr. Edward Kim of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who presented his findings at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.
He said the study suggests that a high dose of Celebrex might alter some of the cellular changes that lead up to lung cancer. But the finding is very early and would need to be confirmed in longer, larger studies.
"This is not a study where we go tell someone who is a heavy smoker to start taking Celebrex to prevent lung cancer," Kim said in an interview.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. In 2008, about 215,000 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer and about 114,000 people will die from it.
The study was started before news emerged in September 2004 that Vioxx doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke in certain patients.
Kim said the trial was put on hold in December 2004 at the request of Pfizer and the National Cancer Institute, which funded the trial, so the researchers could look for signs of heart attacks or strokes.
It was started up again in May 2005 after the researchers added safeguards, including consultations with cardiologists, to reduce heart risks.
EARLY SIGNS
Rather than a direct measure of cancer prevention, which could take many years, Kim said the researchers were looking for early changes in the body that might suggest the drug could reduce the chances of developing lung cancer.
Two large, long-running lung cancer prevention studies of beta-carotene and vitamin A supplements found they actually increased the risk of lung cancer.
"We have not had positive results with these studies. Now we would like to search for an intermediate endpoint or biomarker," Kim said at a media briefing.
"Perhaps that will lead us in the direction of who we need to target in the future," he said.
The researchers tested Celebrex in the study because studies in cells, mice and in people have shown the COX-2 enzyme is present at higher than normal levels in lung cancer and in precancerous lesions of the lung, Kim said. COX-2 is thought to play a role in the development of blood vessels that feed tumors.
Kim's study measured levels of the Ki-67 protein, a marker for cell growth. The researchers wanted to see if Celebrex had an impact on levels of this protein in tissue samples taken from the lungs of heavy smokers.
At the beginning of the study, the researchers took lung samples from six predetermined areas of the lung.
People in the study either got a 200 milligram or a 400 milligram dose of Celebrex twice a day, or a placebo.
After three months, they took more lung samples, and they took samples again at six months. Kim said the group that got the higher dose of Celebrex saw a reduction in levels of the Ki-67 protein.
Kim said it will be important to find better ways of identifying people who are at the highest risk for lung cancer for whom the benefits of taking a high-dose COX-2 inhibitor would outweigh any potential heart risks.
(Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Sun Jun 1, 2008. CHICAGO (Reuters) - A high dose of the arthritis drug Celebrex showed early signs that it may help prevent lung cancer in heavy smokers, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.The Pfizer Inc drug, also known as celecoxib, works by blocking the COX-2 enzyme that causes inflammation, which has been linked with cancer.
A six-month study of 212 current or heavy smokers found a reduction in a specific type of precancerous change in lung cells in people who took a high dose of Celebrex compared with those who took a placebo.
None of the study participants had any heart-related problems such as those with Merck & Co Inc's now withdrawn arthritis drug Vioxx, another COX-2 inhibitor.
"Celebrex was safe and we did not see any cardiovascular events," said Dr. Edward Kim of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who presented his findings at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.
He said the study suggests that a high dose of Celebrex might alter some of the cellular changes that lead up to lung cancer. But the finding is very early and would need to be confirmed in longer, larger studies.
"This is not a study where we go tell someone who is a heavy smoker to start taking Celebrex to prevent lung cancer," Kim said in an interview.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. In 2008, about 215,000 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer and about 114,000 people will die from it.
The study was started before news emerged in September 2004 that Vioxx doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke in certain patients.
Kim said the trial was put on hold in December 2004 at the request of Pfizer and the National Cancer Institute, which funded the trial, so the researchers could look for signs of heart attacks or strokes.
It was started up again in May 2005 after the researchers added safeguards, including consultations with cardiologists, to reduce heart risks.
EARLY SIGNS
Rather than a direct measure of cancer prevention, which could take many years, Kim said the researchers were looking for early changes in the body that might suggest the drug could reduce the chances of developing lung cancer.
Two large, long-running lung cancer prevention studies of beta-carotene and vitamin A supplements found they actually increased the risk of lung cancer.
"We have not had positive results with these studies. Now we would like to search for an intermediate endpoint or biomarker," Kim said at a media briefing.
"Perhaps that will lead us in the direction of who we need to target in the future," he said.
The researchers tested Celebrex in the study because studies in cells, mice and in people have shown the COX-2 enzyme is present at higher than normal levels in lung cancer and in precancerous lesions of the lung, Kim said. COX-2 is thought to play a role in the development of blood vessels that feed tumors.
Kim's study measured levels of the Ki-67 protein, a marker for cell growth. The researchers wanted to see if Celebrex had an impact on levels of this protein in tissue samples taken from the lungs of heavy smokers.
At the beginning of the study, the researchers took lung samples from six predetermined areas of the lung.
People in the study either got a 200 milligram or a 400 milligram dose of Celebrex twice a day, or a placebo.
After three months, they took more lung samples, and they took samples again at six months. Kim said the group that got the higher dose of Celebrex saw a reduction in levels of the Ki-67 protein.
Kim said it will be important to find better ways of identifying people who are at the highest risk for lung cancer for whom the benefits of taking a high-dose COX-2 inhibitor would outweigh any potential heart risks.
(Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Japan man discovers woman living in his closet...
Reuters
Fri May 30, 2008 TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man who was mystified when food kept disappearing from his kitchen, set up a hidden camera and found an unknown woman living secretly in his closet, Japanese media said Friday.
The 57-year-old unemployed man of Fukuoka in southern Japan called police Wednesday when the camera sent pictures to his mobile phone of an intruder in his home while he was out on Wednesday, the Asahi newspaper said on its Website.
Officers rushed to the house and found a 58-year-old unemployed woman hiding in an unused closet, where she had secreted a mattress and plastic drink bottles, the Asahi said. Police suspect she may have been there for several months, the paper said.
"I didn't have anywhere to live," the Nikkan Sports tabloid quoted the woman as telling police.
Local police confirmed that they had arrested a woman for trespassing, but would not comment further on the case.
(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by David Fox)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Fri May 30, 2008 TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man who was mystified when food kept disappearing from his kitchen, set up a hidden camera and found an unknown woman living secretly in his closet, Japanese media said Friday.
The 57-year-old unemployed man of Fukuoka in southern Japan called police Wednesday when the camera sent pictures to his mobile phone of an intruder in his home while he was out on Wednesday, the Asahi newspaper said on its Website.
Officers rushed to the house and found a 58-year-old unemployed woman hiding in an unused closet, where she had secreted a mattress and plastic drink bottles, the Asahi said. Police suspect she may have been there for several months, the paper said.
"I didn't have anywhere to live," the Nikkan Sports tabloid quoted the woman as telling police.
Local police confirmed that they had arrested a woman for trespassing, but would not comment further on the case.
(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by David Fox)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
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