Ergo September 9

A BYTE OF LIFE

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

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BRITNEY SWEEP

CLOSE(D) ENCOUNTERS

Anti-paparazzi video bags MTV awards FREE CIRCULATION

Vol. 2

India’s 1985 World Championship win

No. 174

A cinema-style execution? A

In-house newsletters of companies get young and funky with content and design. Have you noticed their all-new look? » Page 05

24-year-old auto rickshaw driver was tied up and brutally murdered after being given electric shock. The shocking incident came to light on Monday morning at Thiruninravur. The deceased was Rajasekar, a resident of Sri Raghavendra Nagar in Thiruninravur, who had reportedly gone missing two days ago. He owned a house on Mettu Street in Periya Colony in the same area, where he used to park his auto rickshaw at night and return to his Raghavendra Nagar home. While the auto was still in the shed, Rajasekar’s whereabouts remained a puzzle. Meanwhile, early Monday, residents of Mettu Street called the police to inform them of a foul smell emanating from Rajasekar’s house. Thiruninravur police reached the spot and broke open the door to reveal the half-charred decomposed body of the auto driver, which was found chained. Investigating officers said live electric wires were attached to his toes and the murderer might have forcefully electrocuted the victim. A thorough probe is underway. ■ Ergo Correspondent

02 NAMMA CHENNAI

ERGO Tuesday, September 9, 2008

What’s your Onam like? Send us your favourite Onam experience, be it at home or at work. And if you have a photo as proof, we will publish both. All you have to do is mail us at [email protected]

Onam Ashamsakal! IT employees are making time to celebrate Onam with family MITHRA SURESH [email protected]

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M. GOVARTHAN

t is that time of the year when Malayalis around the world greet each other, ‘Onam Ashamsakal’. Onam celebrates the annual return of King Mahabali to Earth after his banishment by Lord Vishnu to the underworld. One of the interpretations of the story is that King Mahabali was released from the cycle of birth and death, which is why new clothes are gifted, to signify new beginnings. In fact, just like any other festival, there are standard rituals that precede celebrations. And around the IT corridor, there are some who will never miss the chance to celebrate Onam with family. Vipin Gopi from Ford Business Service Centre says that he has never missed Onam with his family who live in Kerala. “I will be leaving this Wednesday for Thiruvonam, which is the day that King Mahabali is said to visit all houses in Kerala, in his spectral form of course. For a few months in advance, I save up on holidays so that I can take an extended vacation during Onam,” he says.

Bring home sadhya Tied up with different engagements, couldn’t even go home for the festival, then at least recreate the Onam festivities by having a good sadhya. Kumarakom (Ph: 4203 4203), Tharavad (Ph: 2491 9171) and Coconut Lagoon (Ph: 4202 0428) have take-away service. You could also have them delivered at your home or office.

Dessert treat If you cannot manage to prepare the elaborate Onam Sadhya all by yourself, then have the desserts outsourced. Restaurants like Kumarakom and Tharavad are offering take-away service, where you need to place your order at least a day in advance for the

For Vipin, the celebrations take on an elaborate form, with early morning temple visits, flower carpet arrangement and Onam sadya where female members of the family cook a variety of vegetarian dishes, followed by cultural events. Anish Thambi, Business Management Group, HCL Technologies also plans out his Onam vacations in advance. “Thiruvonam is a restricted holiday for us, and it falls on September 12 this year, which is a Friday. So that is just before the weekend, which makes it convenient.” However, Anish’s family has settled down in Nagpur which is where he was brought up, and so he celebrates a condensed form of Onam. “It’s a family get-together for us. But my family will prepare a sadya and also have the flower carpet arrangement. These two aspects of Onam is what makes the festival special.”■

For a few months in advance, I save up on holidays so that I can take an extended vacation during Onam

payasam of your choice – palada or parippu. A litre payasam is priced between Rs. 150 and Rs. 175.

Flower power It’s fun designing the entrance of the house with Pookkalam especially if you have a variety of flowers to play with. Koyambedu flower market is the best place to shop for flowers. Make sure you drop in at the market as early as possible (4.30 – 5.30 a.m.) to avoid the regular rush as well as to get flowers of different shades.

Go bananas To make sure you get the best prices for nendrapazham shop at Koyambedu or one of those mar-

kets where there is a regular supply. We suggest you buy them a little in advance as prices are expected to go up before the Onam rush.

And also… Check out the small Kerala shores in and around your locality, they are sure to get fresh stocks of Kerala papadam, rice and other ingredients which are integral to make the celebrations complete. Some of the major retail shores like Big Bazaar/ Food World have also stocked them.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

More gold for Cognizant

Participants for the men’s tennis competition at the SDAT Nungambakkam Stadium PHOTO: BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

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ognizant added three more gold medals to their tally and lead the medals table with nine gold, three silver and four bronze after the end of the fourth day of the ETA Star Corporate Olympiad on Sunday. Rajesh Sivaraman won gold for the table toppers in men’s tennis while in the women’s section Sumitha Sundar bagged two, pocketing both the women’s single and women’s doubles title. Kala Jyotsna partnered her in doubles. The men’s doubles gold was won by A Sreekanth Reddy and Balasubramanian Nagarajan of Keane. In the individual bowling event, B.S. Lavanya of Lanson Toyota won gold with an accumulated score of 113, while the silver went to Kala Jyotsna of Cognizant and Shoba Rajendran of Steria. Both scored 93 points. The men’s event was won by P. Gopinath of MMC Infotech who scored 186 points. Ergo Correspondent

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04 KALEIDOSCOPE

ERGO Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Snapshots

Without encryption, email as secure as a postcard

I 쒀 Kerala has emerged as the largest producer of coconut in the world with a record production of 14.81 billion nuts in 2005-06 to 15.84 billion nuts in 2006-07. Productivity also shows an upward trend from 7,608 nuts per hectare in 2005-06 to 8,165 nuts in 2006-07, state reports by Coconut Development Board. PHOTO: K K MUSTAFAH

t’s fairly normal nowadays to install virus scanners on a computer and use a firewall when surfing the web to block possible attacks. So why is email encryption still so uncommon? Only about 5 per cent of users take steps to protect their email from third parties, said Christopher Wolf of Bochum’s Ruhr University, adding, it’s a question of habit. “If e-mail had been encrypted from the start, this would have never been an issue.” But it has become controversial now that emails have essentially become digital postcards which can be read by anyone. “Their contents are transmitted in plain text, after all,” says Wolf, who works as a scientific coordinator at the university’s Horst Goertz Institute for Internet Technology Security. Just about any 14-year-old can use software that lets him read his neighbour’s email messages sent over a wireless connection. Emails can easily be read by providers or system administrators. Encrypting emails is not difficult with the right program and there is no need for additional software.

Encrypting emails is not difficult with the right program “There are two standards for encrypting e-mail: OpenPGP and S/MIME,” says Michael Krauss of Germany’s BSI Federal Office for Information Security and both are secure. The differences lie mainly in the way the computer user applies them. BSI has based its GPG4Win program on OpenPGP. Users install the program on their PC so it can generate a private and a public key. Correspondents can share their public key openly via email. But to exchange emails, both parties need to have public and private keys. It sounds complicated, but all the necessary data can be transmitted with just a few

mouse clicks. The only hitch: both parties need to be using a program like GPG4Win. There are also expansions or plug-ins that make encryption even easier for the user. Private users do not generally have problems with encryption. However, it can lead to problems in business settings, since virus scanners and firewalls sometimes do not know how to react to the encrypted emails, says Krauss. Apart from encryption, OpenPGP and S/MIME can also be used to create e-mail signatures, which can be used to verify the authenticity of e-mails. ■ DPA

Beatles on a song Its tunes could aid memory recall, say a new research 쒀 A Pakistani stock broker rests during a trading session at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) in Karachi on Monday. The benchmark KSE-100-Index closed at 9296.23, down 45.96 points at the end of the day. AFP PHOTO

STOCKTRACK 14944.97

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re you finding it hard to recollect some sweet memories of the past? Fret not! Just tune in to Beatles’ mu-

sic. British researchers have suggested that its tunes can facilitate in recalling memory, which they claim will help them better understand someday how music could aid humans tap into the long forgotten events of their lives. “For a long time people have noticed that music can help people remember events from their lives, (but) this is the first real data that shows this,” lead researcher Catriona Morrison of Leeds University said. The ongoing study explores the vast repertoire of human auto-

For a long time people have noticed that music can help people remember events from their lives, but this is the first real data that shows this

biographical memories, according to the researchers. “(Autobiographical) memories are formed from the events of our lives; we need them in order to have a sense of self,” Morrison said. In their study, the researchers invited people to recount a memory that relates to the Beatles. Participants were told to think of the first thing that came to mind – a vivid memory relating to a particular album, song, news story or even a band member. The study found that the recounted memories are almost always positive, that people remember particular episodes very vividly – sounds, smells and sights of the memory were often recounted. ■ PTI

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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

For those interested in criminal history: http://www.crimelibrary.com/ Need ideas for a new hairdo? http://hair-factory.com/

US $ 44.26 Pound 79 Euro 63.53 100 Yen 40.77

SOURCE: RBI

Websites of the day

On the house

In-house newsletters, targeted at an extended family, are getting more creative with the design, content, colour and, above all, involving associates LIFFY THOMAS [email protected]

■ Of late, Arshad Warsi, the famous Bollywood actor, is so busy with his schedules that he is unable to give call sheets to the producers who approach him. “So what, Main Hoon Na!” says the look-alike of Arshad Warsi, our very own Manoj Kumar of LBPO. Lage Raho, Manoj Bhai! ■ Remember the fun holiday you had? Did you manage to capture those special moments? Send us pictures of the holiday...share your moments of fun...get featured on the cover of the next issue of ... .!

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ang on before you actually start mailing us your holiday shots (thinking that ‘Click Pick’ pictures will now appear on the cover page of ERGO!) or search on Google to see who this was ‘Separated at Birth.’ Spare a moment to glance through the in-house newsletter the office assistant keeps at your desk. The ones mentioned above are just a few samples of the interactive, witty and friendly news magazines we collected from companies. Today, in-house magazines, distributed fortnightly, monthly or on a quarterly basis, are a brand-building exercise for an organisation. They speak about the company, its approach, and make employees voice their views. Moreover, newsletters are like an extended family bringing employees, their family and friends together. Quite unlike the newsletters dad once brought home, where pages on the company’s financial performance and essays from the top brass of the company dominated over other fun elements. In fact, companies these days maintain two or three newsletters – each with a specific objective. So, never mind that intranet (e-newsletter) or in-house blogs dominate over other mediums; one cannot rule out the role of print. And the few who still maintain one are only keen to keep the tradition going.

What’s your mantra? From Out of the Box to Prime

Read! Participate! Enjoy!

PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN

Time – Sify, for example, recently revamped its in-house newsletter Prime Time with an all-new, colourful, glossy and young look. So while the ‘Health’ section offers tips on ‘Beat Stress’ diets, one could get an immediate de-stress by taking its quiz on stress. “Prime Time not only empowers our associates but also their family members by sensitising them to various health issues,” says Anandhapriya Raghavan, Associate Editor, Prime Time. UST Global’s News @ Noon, on

the other hand, gives a global update on events and happenings – Potluck Party, the FounderChairman’s birth anniversary celebrations in Kochi and NowU Activities in Chennai.

Ties that bond In a majority of the organisations it is the editorial team comprising a team of representatives from different departments which decides and sources the content – a good synergy among the other elements in the issue

It targets a house as a traffic point. Another intangible benefit is that it helps companies retain employees better, sometimes the spouse acting as a deterrent

being the challenge. So, are newsletters read by employees and their family? No prizes for guessing, as maximum readership is when the family/ employee are covered. “We give gift hampers to the articles selected to feature in an issue,” says I. Praveen Kumar, vice-president (marketing), Expertus, where internal news magazine, Xpluse, is a huge draw.

Then and Now While opinions differ on who were the actual pioneers of the newsmagazine culture – large factories or IT companies – the fact is how innovative they are getting and the need to keep it going despite the additional expenses. According to Jai Xavier Prabhu David, Founder and CEO, PR HUB Integrated Marketing Com-

munications, which helps around seven companies bring out its newsletters, in-house magazines have become part and parcel of many IT/ ITeS companies. From a tool it has become a necessity. “It targets a house as a traffic point. Another intangible benefit is that it helps companies retain employees better, sometimes the spouse acting as a deterrent.” He adds, “Change in language, funky designs, adding topics like health… are some of the latest trends.” At the same time, a section complains that the printed version is a waste of paper. “They can be mutilated and we spend huge sums in bringing these issues out,” says S. Srinivasan, Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO), Amtex Systems, which brings out Insight. ■

06 VILLAGE

ERGO Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Elvis travel idol An Elvis fan is paying tribute to his idol by travelling around the world dressed as the King.

Inflation drives them do part-time work Seventy-three Malaysian civil servants have applied for permission to run petty trade

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eventy-three Malaysian civil servants have applied for permission to do part-time jobs or run a petty trade as of July 30, a month after the government opened the door for them to supplement their income in view of the rising cost of living, local media reported on Monday. More applications are expected from the 800,000 government employees, the New Straits Times reported. Among the things they want to do are giving lectures and tuition, driving taxis, breeding fish, working as petrol station attendants and setting up stalls at night markets. The Public Service Department, which received the applications, said 58 of them had obtained approvals from their department heads.

They include 20 applications from those working in ministries, 13 from employees in statutory bodies and 13 from workers in local authorities. More than 50 percent of the applicants said they wanted to work part-time to ease their families’ financial burden. Over 20 percent said they wanted to gain knowledge and expertise. It is estimated that some 450,000 civil servants earning between 750 ringgit (216.76 U.S. dollars) and 1,500 ringgit (433. 53 dollars) a month would be badly hit as inflation had risen this year due to high fuel and food prices. In the private sector, too, some employees are moonlighting to make ends meet. ”There are employees in the private sector who are holding part- time jobs or holding second jobs without the knowledge of their employers," Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said. Asked about allowing employees to do part-time jobs during their days off, he said the status quo remained unchanged because employers expected their workers to rest and come in fresh the following week. ■ Xinhua

Statue of goddess found in western Iran Tehran The first phase of archaeological excavations at Sheikhi Abad mound in Iran’s Kermanshah Province has yielded the statue of a goddess. According to a report in Press TV, the statute, which resembles a figurine previously found in Kermanshah’s Sarab-Mort, is believed by experts to be a valuable source of information. Iranian and British archaeologists, who studied the site for the first time in the past fifty years, also discovered nearly 50 botanical samples that can shed light on some of the mysteries of the Neolithic Age. Archeologists believe the site was home to the earliest human settlers. ANI

One in four Brit kids does not recognize Churchill He might have led Britain to victory in the Second World War, but for kids, Prime Minister Winston Churchill is the name of a nodding dog in insurance adverts, a new survey reveals. Even just 79 per cent were able to identify present PM Gordon Brown from a photo, compared to 94 per cent for the ’I’m A Celeb hosts’. While, 93 per cent of the eight to 11-year-olds polled recognised football hero David Beckham and 85 per cent picked out pop star Britney Spears, nearly 41 per cent of failed to recognize Tory leader David Cameron, reports The Sun. Nearly ten per cent of the youngsters confused a picture of US presidential hopeful Barack Obama with F1 driver Lewis Hamilton. ANI

Posh and Becks turn to Buddhism Football ace David Beckham and his wife Victoria have reported embraced Buddhism. Sources have revealed that the couple, who live in Los Angeles with their three sons, can be seen chanting every morning to help themselves deal with their hectic lifestyles, reports www.chinaview.cn. “David and Victoria have gone completely Californian! David has begun wearing health, prosperity and performance beads around his wrist. He has started yoga and stretching classes after a knee injury, and then a team mate suggested Buddhist chanting to soothe his mind," a source told Britain’s Look magazine. "Now he and Victoria do a short five-minute chant when they wake up to start the day off on the right foot, repeating, ’Homage to the blessed one, the worthy one, the rightly self-awakened one,’" the source added. ANI

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Frenchwoman, 59, gives birth to triplets A 59-year-old Frenchwoman has given birth to triplets who are in good health, the Paris hospital treating her said on Monday. The babies were delivered overnight Saturday, said a spokesman at the Cochin hospital. The woman, of Vietnamese origin, is thought to have resorted to a private Vietnamese clinic willing to overlook the age limit for egg donation and in vitro fertilisation (IVF), set at 45 in Vietnam, according to press reports. AFP

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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Dumpee keeps vigil

This day that year

An Italian man whose girlfriend left him to become a nun is holding a vigil outside her convent.

It was on September 9, 1776, the United States of America was born when the Continental Congress changed the name of the nation from the United Colonies.

It’s my turn Prince Harry gets licence to zip on William’s 175mph superbike

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ts zoom time for Prince Harry, for the royal has passed his motorcycle test and is now riding a 175mph superbike given to him by his elder brother Williams. According to reports, the young Royal, dubbed Harry Sheene after legendary biker Barry, has acquired a motorcycle licence after a rigorous training course. But Harry’s regular spin on the bike has his security team on its toes, as Williams made headlines police guards have when he bought a powerful to ride alongside Honda Super Blackbird, and whenever the Prince decides to the bike is now in the hands take the bike out. of Harry who’s still to get a According to sources, this turns bike of his own out to be a bit of a problem as they find it difficult to keep up with the 23-year-old, known for his speedy driving. “Motorbikes are extremely dangerous and there is only so

ANI

Termite palace

Bridget McCain’s Bangladesh orphanage revealed

AFP PHOTO

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cCain and his wife adopted Bridget as their daughter 17 years ago from a Dhaka orphanage. She was then a desperately ill baby girl after a cyclone struck Bangladesh in 1991, the Sunday Telegraph reveals. The paper quotes Sister Olivet of the Sisters of Charity of Mother Teresa Children’s Home here, as saying: “When she arrived here she became the child of God. So this must be what God wanted her to be. It just happened for this lucky child.” The orphanage, its walls adorned with fading pictures of babies, photographs of Mother Teresa and images of Christ and Mary, rings to the cries and gurgling laughter of nearly 30 babies and toddlers. McCain’s wife, Cindy, brought Bridget and another little girl, Nikki, back to the US after seeing them in the orphanage. Nikki was later adopted by one of McCain’s aides, Wes Gullett. Both girls needed urgent treatment for lifethreatening conditions and their chances had looked bleak if they remained in Bangladesh,

much Harry’s security team can do to protect him,” British tabloid The Sun quoted a source as saying. Clarence House has confirmed that Harry gained a bike licence. Williams made headlines when he bought a powerful Honda Super Blackbird, and the bike is now in the hands of Harry who’s still to get a bike of his own. The source added: “William has given Harry a pep talk on riding a motorbike on the open road. But Harry already appears a better rider and is far more fearless." Harry was filmed riding a motorbike in the desert with fellow soldiers in Afghanistan, earlier this year. It is being said that Prince Charles is a little sceptical about his sons moving to superbikes. “He would far rather the boys stuck to driving cars. Harry has been influenced by fellow officers in his regiment,” added the source. ■

where more than half the population lives on less than 50p a day. Despite the worldly success enjoyed by Bridget McCain and Nikki Gullett, however, the Bangladeshi government has moved to prevent more young children being given up to adoption by foreign parents. Now only foreigners married to a Bangladeshi citizen are eligible to adopt in the country. ■ ANI

쑸 Tourists Look at spectacular cathedral termite mounds in the Litchfield National Park near Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory. Often visible along Northern Territory, also know as the ’Top End’ highways, they are amongst the largest mound built by termites anywhere in the world and are reminiscent of medieval cathedrals. AFP PHOTO / GREG WOOD

08 SPORT

ERGO Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Pot scandal Japan’s legendary grand champion Kitanoumi quit on Monday as head of the country’s sumo association as two more Russian wrestlers were thrown out for allegedly smoking marijuana. The scandal was the latest to tarnish the image in Japan of sumo, a heavily ritualistic 2,000-year-old sport whose athletes are expected to lead almost ascetic lives. Kitanoumi resigned as head of the Japan Sumo Association after the scandal reached his stable, where one of the Russian wrestlers trained.

Double glory for

PCB flip-flop In a flip-flop by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), its Chief Operating Officer Shafqat Naghmi on Monday said pacer Shoaib Akhtar could be considered for selection even if he doesn’t pay the fine of seven million rupees. Akhtar was issued a legal notice by the PCB last month asking him to either pay the fine imposed on him by the PCB-appointed appellate tribunal or forget a national call-up. But, Naghmi said despite the notice, national interest would be put before everything else when it came to selection matters. “Let’s just say we will prefer to give national and team interest priority and the reports we have got about Akhtar from our team trainer and coaching staff at the national academy is very good. So if he is fit we will definitely consider him when time comes,” Naghmi said. PCB legal counsel Taffazzul Rizvi had also recently said that even if the Champions Trophy, for which Akhtar was selected, had been postponed the condition of paying the fine first to play for Pakistan still stood. The fine was imposed in June by the appellate tribunal which, however, reduced the fiveyear ban imposed on Akhtar by the Board’s disciplinary committee to 18 months. PTI

Preeja rues lack of competition Preeja Sreedharan rued lack of competition during her gold medal win in the 10,000m event in the National Open Athletics Championship in Kochi on Monday and said she could have produced a better show had she been pushed by her competitors in the race. National Champion and Olympian Preeja, representing Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB), won the gold medal with a timing of 34:13.4 seconds. “I was confident of winning the gold medal. Though I expected to break my own Meet record I could not as I was tired. Had there been tough competition, I would have done much better. I expected some fight from the other competitors,” she said. “Towards the end, I felt very tired and slowed down the pace. The track is also little slippery because of heavy rains the city has been experiencing.” Preeja, who also won Chennai Marathon and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh last week, said: “I have just come from Chennai. I have not fully recovered from that gruelling race.” PTI

Serena Serena Williams beats Jankovic for third Open title, claims No. 1 spot

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merican Serena Williams defeated second seed Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 in the women’s US Open final on Sunday for her ninth career Grand Slam title and the world number one ranking. There was plenty at stake as fourth-seeded Williams received the WTA’s top ranking, a spot she previously held for 57 weeks beginning in 2002. “I am so excited,” Williams said. “I wasn’t even going for number one. It is just an added bonus.” Williams, playing in her first US Open final in six years, also picked up 1.5 million dollars in first-place prize money and moved into third on the all-time money list, just ahead of Martina Navratilova. The 26-year-old Williams won her 32nd career singles title and wiped away some of the disappointment of losing to sister Venus in the Wimbledon final earlier this year. “It was magical. It was like everything coming together like magic,” Williams said. Williams fired three aces and hammered 44 winners in the two hour, four minute match in front of a crowd of 19,000 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The women’s final was originally scheduled for Saturday but had to be switched to Sunday after the remnants of tropical storm Hanna washed out part of Saturday’s schedule. Williams, who also won the US Open in 1999 and 2002, is enjoying a revival in her game as she stormed through all seven rounds at Flushing Meadows without dropping a set en route to posting her fourth singles title of 2008. On Sunday, she kept the Jankovic off guard by imposing her powerful serve and strong ground strokes on the Serbian.

No match The 21-year-old Jankovic came out with more spark in the opening set, taking an early break to go up 2-1. But Williams broke back in the fourth, sixth and 10th games to take the set. Williams clinched the match on her second match point, blasting a backhand winner into the open

side of the court. She celebrated by throwing her racket into the air and then jumping up and down before going to the net to shake Jankovic’s hand. “Last time I played Jelena I got up had a lot of match points and she is the kind of player not going to give it to you. I knew I just had to take it. I had to go for it,” Williams said. Jankovic, who was competing in her first Grand Slam final, said she squandered her chances on the big points. “I am disappointed that I lost,” Jankovic said. “It is not pleasing when you lose. I felt I had her because she was really tired at the end of the second set. Tonight I gave everything. I had had my chances in the first set and second set. I had some unlucky points I should have won them and I didn’t. Serena played better tonight. She was too good.” Jankovic blew her chance to force a third set as she was up 5-3, 40-0 but then made three-straight unforced errors to let Williams off the hook. Both players didn’t want to give an inch, even driving the ball directly at each other on a couple of net points. But the mood was lighter during the post-match ceremony as both players thanked their family and friends and even joked around a bit.

Little bantering “How much do I get?” asked Jankovic, who earned USD 750,000 as the runner-up. Earlier in the tournament some of the players and the media had accused Jankovic of over-dramatizing some of her injuries. She joked to reporters after Sunday’s match that the runner-up trophy she received on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court could have been for best “leading role”. “I was thinking my trophy should be an Oscar,” Jankovic said. This is the ninth time in history that a Grand Slam final has featured two women battling for number one in the world. Williams surpasses former No. 1 ranked Ana Ivanovic who held the title for 12 weeks before being knocked out in the second round of the final major championship of the season. The last time the world number one changed hands in a Grand Slam final was 13 years ago when Steffi Graf beat Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in a three-set French Open final. ■ AFP AFP

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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

‘‘

He (Asif Ali Zardari) is the chief patron of PCB and he should order a thorough investigation into the misuse of the board’s funds and hold the guilty people accountable. Pakistan Cricket Board has been damaged mostly because non technical people with no cricket background were handed the reigns by the previous government. Javed Miandad

Champion of the champions take the game away from the Indians. But Viswanath effected a smart stumping and India were back on top. “It was a pleasure keeping to Ravi and Shiva. None of the batsmen had an answer to their bowling,” the wicketkeeper says. Pakistan were knocked out for a measly 176 and India managed to secure an eightwicket win after a 103-run opening stand between Shastri and Kris Srikkanth. Recalling India’s run chase, Viswanath says: “Kris just tore them apart and Ravi was at his usual sedate best and we reached the target comfortably.” India were the world champions again and it was time to take a spin on Ravi Shastri’s Audi at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. “All of us lost control and it was for the first time that many of us were seeing such a grand car and we literally jostled for space. For me the whole win was extra special as I had lost my dad the year before. My mom had also recently undergone an openheart surgery and the doctors had given her permission to watch the final. She was ecstatic,” he says. “Air India threw us a lavish party at the Hilton opposite the MCG and champagne was flowing and we partied whole night. They also sponsored a trip to Singapore for the whole team and there too we just partied. A few of our married senior members had obviously no time for our foolish revelries.” ■

K. BHAGYA PRAKASH

Ayon Sengupta talks to Sadanand Viswanath about India’s unexpected victory at the World Championship in 1985

Close(d) Encounters ADRIAN MURRELL/GETTY IMAGES

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ricket pundits had labelled India’s 1983 World Cup win a miracle and their 0-5 drubbing in the next home ODI series against the West Indies did little to send those stories to the burners. India went into the World Championship of Cricket in Australia as the underdogs even though they were the reigning world champions. But under Sunil Gavaskar, a newlook Indian side breezed past every obstacle and went on to win the trophy, shocking the cricket world again. A young diminutive wicketkeeper from Bangalore, Sadanand Viswanath, emerged as one of the unlikely stars of the tournament along with Ravi Shastri and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan. Viswanath kept brilliantly against the spinners and his chirpiness behind the stumps added some extra zing to the team.

Now a BCCI elite panel umpire, Viswanath describes the win as the biggest moment in his career. “It was a terrific experience to play with and against the top names of world cricket. Azhar (Mohammed Azharuddin), Siva and I were very new to international cricket and to combine and clinch something so big was thrilling. But our spinners bowled well in those big grounds in Australia and Sunil (Gavaskar) was magnificent as a skipper,” he recalls. India met archrivals Pakistan in the final and, for a change, India dominated the proceedings right from the start. Kapil Dev picked up the dangerous Mohsin Khan and Pakistan were 17/1. Dev and rookie Chetan Sharma (who was playing in place of an injured Roger Binny) rattled the Pakistanis and in no time they were tottering at 33/4. “Kapil bowled brilliantly. He was absolutely unplayable that day and Chetan and Madan Lal supported him well. After they had lost those quick wickets I was confident of winning,” Viswanath says. But Javed Miandad and Imran Khan forged a 68run partnership for the fifth wicket before Imran ran himself out. But Miandad looked ominous and was ready to

Close(d) Encounters celebrates some of the finest moments of sporting glory seen across all disciplines. If you have any suggestions/ feedbacks, ping [email protected].

10 FLICK

ERGO Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Little Miss Sunshine All the girls participating in the ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ beauty pageant, except Abigail Breslin, had taken part in real beauty pageants. They, in fact, performed the same talent routines which they had in their real-life pageants, according to IMDB.

Britney’s retribution Britney Spears sweeps top honours at MTV Video Music Awards

B

ritney Spears enjoyed a triumphant return to the scene of one of her most humiliating public appearances in Los Angeles on Sunday, scooping three top honours at the MTV Video Music Awards. The pop icon suffered a critical mauling at the same awards show last year, when she stumbled and mimed her way through a performance that came amid turmoil in her private and professional life. But a beaming Spears – who appears to have got her career back on track in re-

cent months after a seemingly endless series of lurid headlines – cut a different figure as she accepted her honours here Sunday. Spears won prizes for best female video, best pop video and video of the year for her single ‘Piece of Me’ which took aim at the paparazzi who follow her every day. It was the first time Spears had won a statuette at the MTV video awards despite 16 previous nominations. “Thank God first and foremost for just blessing me like this, thank my beautiful family, my two beautiful boys for just inspiring me every day and my fans, this is for you. Thank you so much,” Spears said after collecting her first award of the night. Spears recently ended a custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline regarding the couple’s two young sons. The Los Angeles-

based singer lost custody of the children last year as her life unravelled in the full glare of a frenzied media. She hit rock bottom in January when she was twice rushed to hospital for treatment in a psychiatric unit following fears for her mental health. Spears shot to superstardom in late 1998 with her smash-hit debut album ‘Baby One More Time’, which she followed with another chart-topping success the following year, ‘Oops! ... I Did It Again’. ■ AFP

Bleak prospect for Batman sequel

Nicolas Cage bombs at BO L

hile the Batman movie, The Dark Knight, was a box-office hit, a much expected sequel to it may never be made. The reason for the movie not having a sequel is that director Christopher Nolan does not think he can do it without late Aussie actor Heath Ledger. When Ledger passed away, it had looked like American actor Aaron Eckhart would be the new villain, but he has revealed that Nolan has been having second thoughts about it. “Chris hasn’t said he’s going to make a third film. I think he wants to make other movies,” News of the World quoted Eckhart as saying. ■

ess than a year after starring in the biggest movie of his volatile career, Nicolas Cage led the North American box office to its worst weekend in five years on Sunday with one of his weakest. Bangkok Dangerous, a thriller in which the 44-year-old actor plays a jaded assassin, opened at No. 1 with estimated three-day earnings of just $7.8 million, distributor Lionsgate said. While no one was expecting it to be a hit, industry observers had predicted it would earn more than $10 million. ■

ANI

Reuters

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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Madonna dedicates ‘Like a Virgin’ to Pope Madonna, once accused by the Vatican of staging one of the most satanic shows in history, surprised fans by dedicating her hit ‘Like a Virgin’ to the Pope at a sold-out concert held in Rome. “I dedicate this song to the Pope, because I’m a child of God. All of you are also children of God,” the 50-year old Queen of Pop told the 60,000 fans that flocked to the Italian stop of her ‘Sticky & Sweet’ world tour on Saturday.

Brad the Dad

Cine City

and other tales A

ctor Brad Pitt has said that his kids make him laugh, but rob him of sleep. Pitt (44) was asked at the Toronto International Film Festival gala screening for his new Coen Brothers comedy, also starring George Clooney, who made him laugh the most. “My kids,” People magazine quoted him as saying. He talked about his kids with Angelina Jolie, mentioning the newest additions, eight-week-old twins, Knox and Vivienne, adding that they are doing great. “Everyone is healthy,” he said. “No sleep though. Sleep is something you long for, but it’s alright. We’ll get it,” he added. Despite his lack of sleep, Pitt’s co-stars have nothing but praise for the way he raises his children. “He’s fantastic,” Oscar winner Tilda Swinton said. Costar John Malkovich added: “He was very doting with his daughter during shooting on a couple of days I was there. He’s very much a present parent.” Pitt and Jolie have six kids contributing to the giggles: Maddox (7), Pax (4), Zahara (3), and Shiloh (2) and the newly-arrived twins. ■ ANI

Billu Barber: Same but different With Kuselan, the remake of Malayalam film Katha Parayum Pol, failing at the box-office, two incidents happened overnight. Director Priyadarshan and actor Shah Rukh Khan have announced that Billu Barber has no traces of Kuselan and is a perfect remake of the Malayalam version. Ramesh Aravind, who was asked by P.Vasu to direct the remake in Kannada, has dropped his plans. According to sources, it has been confirmed that Shah Rukh Khan would be appearing in not more than five to seven scenes in Billu Barber. Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone have been roped in for an item number in the movie.

Director Vijay wants to experiment “I want to make films in new genres,” says Vijay, director of Poi Solla Porom. The movie will hit the screens this Friday. Soon after the release of the Poi Solla Porom, director Vijay will be directing a Bollywood film. Vijay also has a script with five heroes. It’s a collegebased subject and he is in talks with young actors. Soon the official announcements would be made and he is also in discussions with Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu for a film. www.cinesnacks.com

12 SCAN

ERGO Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Mummy, Save me! According to TV.com, Brendan Fraser lost consciousness while filming the hanging scene in The Mummy (1999) because of the noose being too tight around his neck.

PICK OF THE DAY

Star Gold

Star World

Star Movies

Sony Pix

Kya Kool Hai Hum – 8 pm

Prison Break

My Super Ex Girlfriend

Bugsy – 10 pm New York gangster Ben takes a business trip to L.A. Ben doesn’t hesitate to kill anyone crossing him. Then a trip to a gambling joint at a spot in Las Vegas gives him his big idea.

Karan and Rahul are still living in a flat even after being evicted from it. Karan romances his boss’s girl while Rahul seeks a lady with a birthmark on her right breast on advice from an astrologer.

– 10 pm As Lincoln tries to reunite with Michael, he has to say goodbye to another loved one. Michael attempts to obtain a getaway plane.

– 11-05 pm Matt Saunders thought his luck had changed when he started dating Jenny Johnson. But he didn’t know that she was New Yorks super-hero G-Girl. When he breaks it off with her hell breaks loose on him.

Dear Diary, We are all caught in a web of monotony where we don’t have time to sit back and laugh. But, believe me, when you slouch on your couch and travel back in time to the past you will recall incidents to laugh over. The other day I was watching Bridget Jones’ Diary and it reminded me of the times I used to make entries in my diary. I was in my early teens and my first crush blossomed. The ‘Kavignan’ that I was, I wrote love poems like ‘Kanne Manniye Revathiye…’

One day my mom chanced upon my diary while cleaning my shelf. She was shocked after reading my silly poems and got worried. She advised me to concentrate on my studies and a lecture on how that wasn’t the age for ‘unnecessary’ distractions followed. After the hue and cry died out, I came back to my room and laughed. It was only then did I realise that the concept of maintaining a diary was to keep it a secret and to keep it away from prying hands. As told to V. Lokpria

PHOTO: R.RAVINDRAN

DEAR DIARY RJ Arun

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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Vintage champagne raises fortune Two hundred bottles of champagne stuck on the seabed for more than 80 years are being sold at an exclusive Russian hotel - for GBP156,000 a bottle.

Greetings Hi Santa, Your Birthday makes this day really special. Just like U! Happy Birthday! May all your wishes come true. Warm Wishes from your lovable friends, Hexaware Technologies Ltd

Dear Gomathi, May this day be the beginning of another special year. Let this birthday bring you lot of joy and happiness in your life! A Warm Birthday Wishes from All of us!

Khao Piyo Aish Karo Savour the best of Punjab at the Punjabi Food festival at all day dining restaurant Caramel. The famous dishes like delicious gravy and punjabi parathas melted in butter/ ghee, matar paneer, dal makhani, bature, lassi and many more are avilable. Where: Caramel, Semmencherry, Old Mahabalipuram Road When: Sep 09, 12.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.

Regards, Quality&PM Smart Team (AMB-6), HCL Technologies Ltd.

The Designers pavillion

Hi Srini, May you have all the joy your heart can hold. All the smiles a day can bring. All the blessings a life can unfold. May u have God’s best in everything. Happy birthday Srini!! From, New Age Software and Solutions.

Dear Nawshathali, We wish you many more happy returns of the day. Team SME & Solution Studio, CTK Satyam Computers

Dear friends, Time has come to say see u. It has been fabulous three years in cognizant. Thanks for your support in all these days. Best wishes for all your dreams. Yours Dinesh(CTS-Freya)

Hi Dhana, Your caring and sharing ways filled my heart with happiness and joy.. Now i can’t imagine my life without the warmth of your friendship. Wish u happy birthday dhana! With love, Prabhu, TCS

Hello Gang, Send your greetings to [email protected], with the word ‘greeting’ and the preferred date of publication in the subject line. Example: “greeting: September 15”. This will help us organise the column. Also, those who want to dedicate greetings, please send your full name, company name and contact number for verification. Cheers, Team Ergo

Colonial India The ‘Colonial India’ exhibition presents an exquisite selection of photographs by Chennai photographers and German nationals Wiele & Klein. The photos were printed from glass plate negatives, and have survived almost a whole century. Where: Dakshinchitra, Muttukadu, East Coast Road When: Till 28th Sep, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Rajasthan Cosmo Club is organising “Meena Bazaar” at The Accord Metropolitan. It will showcase 83 stalls and this year’s highlight is “The Designers’ Pavilion” in an exclusive hall. The exhibition displays their vibrant collection of clothes, jewellery, gift items, accessories, home furnishings, utility items, exclusive designer sarees and much more. Where: The Accord Metropolitan, G.N.Chetty Road, T.Nagar When: 9th & 10th Sep, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

WANT A DAY OFF FROM WORK? So you want a day off. Let’s take a look at what you are asking for. There are 365 days per year available for work. There are 52 weeks per year in which you already have 2 days off per week, leaving 261 days available for work. Since you spend 16 hours each day away from work, you have used up 170 days, leaving only 91 days available. You spend 30 minutes each day on coffee break which counts for 23 days each year, leaving only 68 days

available. With a one-hour lunch each day, you used up another 46 days, leaving only 22 days available for work. You normally spend 2 days per year on sick leave. This leaves you only 20 days per year available for work. We are off 5 holidays per year, so your available working time is down to 15 days. We generously give 14 days vacation per year which leaves only 1 day available for work and I’ll be darned if you are going to take that day off!

14 TRAFFIC JAM

ERGO Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Fat saves life A 20-stone mugging victim’s life was saved in Germany when a bullet fired at him was trapped in his fat.

sudoku

Sudarshan R. of MindTree Limited was taken aback by the beautiful smiles of these children playing near a village temple in Karaikal. Hobbies: Playing keyboard and guitar and singing.

So you think you would make a terrific photographer but never really had the platform? Mail us your best work and we’ll publish it in this space, with credit. E-mail: [email protected]

TEAM Editor: Karthik Subramanian [email protected]

Sr Dy Chief Designer: J.A. Prem Kumar Dy Chief Designer: R. Ravi Kannan Illustrator: R. Venugopal Technical Support: V.R. Vasudevan, K.G. Gurumurthy N. Ravichandran, E. Baskar Head of Advertising: Sriya Narayanan [email protected]

Head of Circulation: RA. Babu Vijay [email protected]

SNAIL MAIL 859/860, Anna Salai, Chennai - 600 002 mail your feedback to [email protected]

FAX 2857 6691 ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Call our Advertisement Manager at 2857 6695. email: [email protected] Website: www.goergo.in

Printed and Published by S. Karthik on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., at Plot B-6 & B-7, CMDA Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar, Chengleput Taluk, Kancheepuram Dist., Pin: 603209 & at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002. Editor: S. Karthik (Editor responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act). RNI No. TNENG/2007/24553

Prize sponsor for Clickpick this week is the travel portal www.yatra.com Phone: 4210 5353

KAKURO

15

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Poland cancels witch burning

Word’s worth

Government busybodies in Poland have ordered a medieval village to drop a witch burning drama from its birthday pageant because it’s too sexist.

Jargogle" (jar-goh-gle) an obsolete verb meaning ’to confuse, to mix up.’ The probable adjective, jargogled, sounds almost onomatopoeic.

B.C ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 20 At office, you may be very persistent about tasks on hand. You can be highly practical and to some extent shrewd to people around you. In personal life, it may be just another normal day, without much of happening.

TAURUS APRIL 21 - MAY 20 You may not depend on luck but work harder to accomplish desired goals. You may be very firm in your decisions and may want others to follow you. In personal life, you may have very practical approach, even in matters of love.

GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20 You must avoid being dependant on others as far as work is concerned. If you are in a situation to count on someone and if work is not done in time, you may feel frustrated and worried. In relationships, you may be more passionate.

BORN LOSER

CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 20 Let others handle important task and trust them. It’s not your day, so even if you try to do something good, you may not get due credit for the same. In relationships, you may enjoy togetherness and closeness.

LEO JULY 21 - AUG 20 If you are at highest position in the organization, it would be a power day for you. However, if you are reporting to someone, you may disagree with your superiors views, yet will have to accept them. Your beloved one may understand you very well.

VIRGO AUG 21 - SEPT 20

FREE RANGE

WORKING IT OUT

This is best day to plan activities of week or month. You will minutely observe practical aspects related to your work, analyse them and go ahead. In love life, you must avoid being calculations as love cannot be measured with yardstick of ’give & take’.

LIBRA SEPT 21 - OCT 20 You should avoid confrontations with people around you, be it family or office. You would not be able to prove your points through relevant arguments. In love and related matters, you need to have a very mature approach.

SCORPIO OCT 21 - NOV 20 It is a favourable day for all technical work. If you need to download or sort out some data, it will be done within time. The day ensures smoother sailing on personal and professional fronts, by the Grace of Ganesha.

SAGITTARIUS NOV 21 - DEC 20 Ganesha finds you thinking seriously about financial matters and security today. You may also be thinking about job security. You may discuss money matters or investment related matters with your life partner, feels Ganesha.

CAPRICORN DEC 21 - JAN 20 You may set a target today and start working in that direction. Nothing will matter, except your professional progress. You may be highly concerned about ’way ahead’ in your vocation. Ganesha feels that you will receive enough care from beloved.

PREVIOUS ISSUE’S SOLUTIONS

AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 20 Ganesha suggests you not to hurry up in anything. Do your work as calmly as possible to remain hassle free today. Your primary goals may be kept aside for a while and you might have to get involved in sorting out issues related to other people.

PISCES FEB 21 - MARCH 20 You are likely to establish beneficial associations today. You will receive support from your team members and it will help your career progress too. In love life, your partner may take a lead and initiate good conversation with you. Predictions by Bhavesh N. Pattni

16 !

ERGO Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Learning incentive A handsome teacher in China is offering pupils autographed photos of himself to encourage them to work harder.

Red light dims, last legal brothel shuts Authorities in central Taiwan have turned off the red light at the county’s last legal brothel after the death of its pimp aged 87, newspapers said on Friday. Ai-Le was the last legal brothel in Nantou county in central Taiwan, and police revoked its permit because the 48-year-old business could not be transferred, the Liberty Times reported. Prostitution has been illegal in Taiwan since 1997, and licensing of new brothels stopped in 1974, but isolated illegal brothels can be found all over the island. Brothels licensed prior to 1974 were allowed to keep operating. The closure effectively leaves Ai-Le’s two prostitutes, aged 40 and 50, jobless, the paper added.

MY WEEKEND WITH CHROME KARTHIK SUBRAMANIAN [email protected]

Reuters

Vienna’s dancing horses get first female riders Two women have made history at Vienna’s Spanish Riding School by becoming the first female riders to pass the entrance exam in 436 years. An 18-year-old Briton and a 21-year-old Austrian must now pass a one-month trial to train at the school, set up in 1572. The school will not name the pair until they pass the trial. If they pass, the new recruits will train for five years before they can take to the saddle in public on the white Lipizzaner dancing horses which are trained to perform tricky moves such as springing from their hind legs. “There has never been a ban for women,” Erwin Klissenbauer, the school’s manager, said Friday. The school has, however, had a masculine image because of its military background, he said.

I

t is hard not to be carried away by the euphoria of another browser taking on the might of Microsoft Explorer. But hey, look who’s doing it: Google, the new Microsoft of the Internet, that is. (evil smiley will be appropriate here.) After my weekend playing around with Chrome, I have to admit that it surely looks like a good beginning. The overall look is quite nifty, the emphasis clear-

biggest change that one experiences with Google Chrome over other browser – they have dropped the dropdown bar for url addresses

Reuters

Greek postmen beat zombies Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers benefited from a late surge in public support to win the title on Friday of the oddest book title of the past 30 years, The Bookseller magazine said. The book – a comprehensive record of Greek postal routes by Derek Willan – grabbed 13 percent of the 1,000 international public votes cast to choose the oddest title from the winners of the annual competition that began in 1978. It beat People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead and How To Avoid Huge Ships into second and third places with 11 and 10 percent respectively. “The posties pulled off a real shock here. The pre-tournament favourite was the prize’s first ever recipient – Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice,” said Horace Bent, custodian of the annual Diagram Prize. “Reuters

ly on cutting down the ‘interferences’. The prime example for this is the way downloads are effected. None of those interfering Firefox-like download windows. The tabbed browser does not have the bulky toolbar and looks neat and clean, almost skeletal. The text formatting is surely different when compared to IE or even Firefox. Surely the sites I checked out – including www.goergo.in – looked a lot crisper and compact. Let us move on to the biggest change that one experiences with Google Chrome over other browser – they have dropped the drop-down bar for url addresses. It is quite confusing to understand why Google did this and I would hazard a guess that the coming versions of Chrome would add this on. For, not only does it require continuous retyping of addresses – meaning a considerable loss of history – it is also a bit annoying. Because the address bar also doubles up as a search window.

Fast and the furious The biggest talking point about Google Chrome was that it was fast and furious enough to make other browsers look feeble and old. I give this theory mixed reaction. For starters, yes it surely is fast where the sites concerned are

pretty slim in their framework – say Gmail or Yahoo news site. But I found some serious problem in video streaming sites, be it www.youtube.com or www.funnyordie.com. Chrome let me down during a couple of my video binging sessions, especially when I had opened the videos on multiple tabs. My verdict for Google Chrome would be thus: A good beginning but at least for the time being, I would still go with Firefox 3.0 for its robust build and slew on add-ons. But there is much more to Google Chrome than just its browsing capabilities. As many pundits have declared, Chrome could well be one giant leap into the world of cloud computing. There are at least two interesting issues that deserve a closer look: on the possible impact of Chrome on startups (essential reading Bob Walsh’s article on cnet.com); and the EULA (end user licence agreement) controversy that has blown up around the browser. The original EULA of Google had a clause that gave it a nonexclusive right to display and distribute every bit of content transmitted through the browser. Google has since said it goofed up on the EULA and will correct with retroactive effect. Interesting times ahead! ■

The Beer Fest 쑸 A waitress carries 12 litresize glasses of beer in a beer tent during the Gillamoos folk festival in the southern German town of Abensberg on September 8, 2008. The world famous Oktoberfest beer festival will take place from September 20 to October 5, 2008 in Munich. AFP PHOTO DDP / OLIVER LANG