Microsoft's Windows 7 has '8' big problems

8 'problems' with Windows 7 

 
Microsoft's latest operating system Windows 7 opened to rave reviews last week. After the dismal performance of its earlier operating system Vista, Microsoft seems to be heaving a sigh of relief at the grand reception that its new OS has received.

PC makers are scrambling to offer Windows 7-based systems, including Netbooks, as they hope the operating system to spur PC sales. After skidding for six months, computer shipments have shown some improvements recently. Seems Microsoft is all set to further strengthen its grasp over computer desktops.

Not really! As many skeptics beg to differ. According to them, Vista too got high marks before its release as well, with writers praising the new visual design and glossing over quirks that later became common gripes.

Here's looking into what may dampen Microsoft's Windows 7 party.
One of the biggest complain that most analysts have is the lack of direct upgrade from XP, the operating system which still continues to run on almost 80% of the world's computers. Windows 7 fails to offer a smooth transition from XP as there is no upgrade option. Users will have to go for a fresh install.

Writes Tony Bradley of PC World, "After the issues with Windows Vista, and knowing that the vast majority of users-both consumer and enterprise-are still relying on Windows XP, it seems like a direct upgrade path is a necessity. Many users may be frustrated by the lack of upgrade path and having to do a fresh install, reinstall all of the other software and migrate user settings. Microsoft has provided tools to ease the pain, but this is still the biggest opportunity for negative PR or backlash related to Windows 7."

According to Microsoft, the upgrade option is not available in Windows 7 Setup when installing Windows 7 on a computer running Windows XP. However, users can use Windows Easy Transfer to migrate files and settings from Windows XP to Windows 7 on the same computer. 
The basic requirements of a PC to run on Windows 7 are 1 GHz processor, minimum 1GB of RAM and 16GB hard drive space. This in simple words means any hardware that worked with Vista will work for Windows 7 too.

However, one of the most crucial reasons for Vista not succeeding was that the operating system almost forced a hardware upgrade on users. Hope the almost similar requirement does not hamper the prospects of Windows 7. It's is also to be noted here that that the basic PC configuration has seen a jump since Vista days.
According to Bradley, Windows Vista stumbled due to the lack of hardware and device driver support. He writes, "The vendors just weren't ready when Vista was launched and Vista never really recovered from the damaged reputation even after most of those issues were resolved."

It is not a great experience for users working on a new operating system to find out that their existing printer, wireless router, webcam, and other peripheral hardware devices don't work with the new OS. This means either they stop working on that hardware or look for new hardware that is compatible.
The most controversial and much maligned feature of Vista, UAC or User Account Control is a part of Windows 7 too. The UAC was designed to prevent unauthorised execution of code by displaying a pop-up warning every time a change is being made to the system, whether by the operating system or a third-party application.

Many Vista users complained of being bombarded with the warnings. It proved a huge annoyance for users installing new applications frequently. Windows 7 now allows you to set the level of information that a user desires.

However, writes Bradley, "... still after much debate with the security community during the Beta testing, the default setting is still set to what users experienced with Windows Vista. Frankly, UAC serves a purpose and it is better to leave it alone. But, those who dislike UAC are going to have to go into the control panel and modify the configuration to their liking or be faced with the same pop-ups that annoyed the world with Vista."
The failure of Vista continues to cast a deep shadow on the Microsoft's fresh launch, especially among the business users. Most enterprise customers skipped Windows Vista reportedly due to the numerous technical glitches that the OS had. According to reviewers, the operating system suffered from frequent hangs and crashes, and incompatibility with certain software and hardware.

A section of analysts believes that `Vista's reputation' may hamper Microsoft's efforts to convince enterprises about the Windows 7 improved features.

Ahead of the launch, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said that the company's reputation never recovered from the poor performance of Vista. Ballmer said Microsoft's reputation took a beating after the release of Vista in 2007, an operating system which caused computers to hang indefinitely, among many other technical glitches.
Price is seen as one of biggest issue that may dampen the Windows 7 release. Microsoft is charging $199.99 for the Home Premium version of Windows 7, or $119.99 for users seeking to upgrade from older versions of the operating system. However, India pricing seems to be comparatively low.

In India, the Home Basic package will cost about Rs 5,899, while the Windows 7 Ultimate (high-end version) will be available for Rs 11,799. In the US, the high-end version costs $320 (Rs 15,000).

Microsoft Vista Home basic costs around Rs 3,500, Home Premium version is priced at Rs 4,800. Microsoft Vista Business costs around Rs 6,400 while Microsoft Vista Ultimate is priced at Rs 9,500.
PC makers HCL Infosystems, Acer and Hewlett Packard have already started shipping Windows pre-loaded PCs and notebook computers. HP India will retail Windows 7-preloaded PCs between Rs 27,990 and Rs 90,000. HP's preloaded Windows 7 notebooks will be priced at Rs 39,990 onwards.

Acer PCs with Windows 7 OS will be priced between Rs 15,000 and Rs 35,000, while the notebooks will be priced at Rs 21,000-Rs 70,000. HCL Infosystems' Executive Vice President George Paul informed that HCL will price it between Rs 16,000 and Rs 55,000, whereas the notebooks would cost Rs 22,000-Rs 80,000.
Microsoft’s big release coincides with one of the worst phases in the global economy. The past few months have witnessed a downfall in the spending as cost-cutting became the mantra for businesses around the world.

Though most companies see a recovery on the horizon, they still see no big jump in corporate budgets. The companies globally continue to remain cautious and are tightly guarding their purses.

Certain analysts believe that the tough economic climate may impact the sales of Windows 7. At the same time, PC makers like Lenovo are betting on the new operating system to revive the falling computer sales.
Another big challenge for Microsoft is to deal with piracy. Even before the official release of Windows 7, authentic looking pirate copies of the OS were available in China for a mere $3.

According to Reuters, Windows 7 has been openly available in China's grey market for over a month now. Shopkeepers in Shanghai’s Xinyang market are said to be offering all versions of Windows 7, in both Chinese and English for just 20 yuan ($2.93). This compares with the list price of up to $320.

(http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/5163132.cms)

Video Review of Nano iPod

Video: The new iPod Nano reviewed – Gadget Inspectors

Harry Wallop and Claudine Beaumont take a closer look at Apple's latest mp3 player that was unveiled by Steve Jobs last week, now complete with video camera and voice recorder.

Key features of the new Apple iPod player:

• New built in video camera and mic
• Comes in nine colours with an aluminium finish
• Screen is slightly larger than previous model at 2.2 inches
• The FM radio has a live pause for up to 15 minutes
• A percentage of the profits from the sale of the red coloured phone will go to the Global Fund to help Aids in Africa
• Price: £115 for 8GB version – 2000 songs and 8 hours of video; £135 ($210) for 16GB version – 4000 songs and 16 hours of video 

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/gadget-inspectors/6194897/Video-The-new-iPod-Nano-reviewed-Gadget-Inspectors.html)

Wow, Mr.Buffet's cell phone may have responsible for the world wide financial mess!

Was Buffett's cell phone responsible for the financial crisis?

He may be a financial guru. But Warren Buffett's inability to work his mobile phone might have played a role in the collapse of economic markets last year. 
Time has a story about a phone call between Buffett and Bob Diamond, president of Barclays. Diamond had just 24 hours to stop Lehman Brothers collapsing and a last-minute plan on how he might get Buffett to underwrite it.
Buffett asked Diamond to send over more details. Here's what happened next

Buffett got back to his hotel room around midnight and was surprised to find ... nothing. Lehman went under, and within days, the world was in a full-blown financial crisis.
Fast forward 10 months. Buffett, who admits he never has really learned the basics of his cell phone, asked his daughter Susan about a little indicator he had noticed on the screen: "Can you figure out what's on there?" It turned out to be the message from Diamond that he had been waiting for that night.

I caught up with Buffett afterward, and asked him whether, in retrospect, he might have gone for the deal. He pulled the simple little Samsung phone out of his pocket and pondered it for a moment. It's entirely possible, he suggested. "I don't know."

(http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2009/09/was-warren-buffetts-cell-phone-responsible-for-the-financial-crisis.html)

New and Cheaper iPods, iPod Nano-----In Pictures

Pictures of all New iPods
As speculated, Apple revamped its product line at its Wednesday event dubbed "It's only rock n roll and we like it". Though the company's product launches/revamps have always been much-talked about, this time their thunder was somewhat stolen by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Jobs stepped back into the spotlight for the first time after nearly a year, drawing a standing ovation.

After a brief update on his health, Jobs got back to business unveiling new and cheaper iPods. Here's over to Apple's new revamped iPod Nano what Jobs calls "the most popular music player in the world" and other hot launches/revamps.
 
In terms of looks the 5th generation-iPod Nano is almost identical to its predecessor barring a few cosmetic changes.

Measuring 3.6 by 1.5 by 0.2 inches, it weighs a mere 1.3 ounces. The player's screen is slightly larger than its predecessor at 2.2 inches. The 4th-generation Nano sports a 2 inch screen. It also has a 376-by-240-pixel resolution, slightly higher than 4th-generation Nano at 320-by-240 resolution. The new Nano will come in seven bright hues.

Apple's smallest iPod Nano now comes with a built-in video camera capable of capturing 640x480 standard definition video at 30 frames per second.

Users can record video in portrait or landscape. A built-in mike lets users capture audio. It comes pre-loaded with 15 fun video effects that let users add special effects.

Real-time special effects include: Sepia, Black and White, X-Ray, Film Grain, Thermal, Security Cam, Cyborg, Bulge, Kaleido, Motion Blur, Mirror, Light Tunnel, Dent, Stretch and Twirl.
Has a video camera
 
The new iPod Nano will now come with an FM radio. The new FM tuner lets users see the names of songs and artists. The VoiceOver feature speaks the names of songs and artists. There is also iTunes Tagging and Live Pause feature. The pause feature will let users pause it with a click. Users can even rewind as far back as 15 minutes, then fast-forward to catch up to the live broadcast.

Apple has added a new pedometer feature into the "Fitness" submenu. It counts every step one takes and calories burnt. Another new feature added to the Nano is microphone. The built-in mike lets users capture a thought, a reminder, a class lecture, or any audio recording with Voice Memos. As for the battery, it supports upto 24 hour playback for audio and 5 hours for video. 

 

The new iPod Nano will cost $149 for an 8GB version and $179 for a 16 GB model. The 8GB model of the iPod Touch -- basically an iPhone without the phone capabilities -- now costs $199, $30 less than the earlier price. The 32GB version now goes for $299 and a 64GB model for $399.
 

iPod Shuffle, Apple's buttonless player, adds a splash of three new colours in addition to the already existing black and silver. Available in pink, blue and green, iPod Shuffle doesn't sport anything new in terms of looks and features. The model has two versions $79 for 4GB and $59 for a 2GB model.

 
Apple has introduced a new version of iTunes, improving the way the software syncs with iPhones and iPods by letting users organize applications more easily. iTunes 9 gives people more control over what gets loaded on to iPods and iPhones and introduces a way to organize applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It also lets five computers on the same home network share - by streaming or copying - music, video and other content, a departure from the strict copy protection Apple insisted on in the past.

iTunes will now sell some albums packaged with digital photography, cover art, liner notes and other media reminiscent of the days of vinyl. iTunes LP can include interviews and other video, all of which can be viewed through iTunes. It's a way for recording companies to boost album sales as online stores make it easier to buy songs individually.

 

(http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4994260.cms)

Stupid Brit journalist from Daily Telegraph writer mauled after entering lion's enclosure

So, I came across this video of a stupid and irresponsible juvenile British Journalist from the DT (what else do you expect from these people) being mauled by a Lion in South Africa. Come on....what was this moron thinking...I thought my readers would like to see the stupidity of this journalist..check it out

“You'd better put on an old jumper as you might get some blood on it,” said our driver, with a grin, as we clambered into the Land Rover to visit the lion sanctuary at Legends resort, deep in Limpopo Province, in the far north of South Africa.

By Charles Starmer Smith. Published: 9:00PM BST 04 Sep 2009

 

I laughed it off as casually as I could, before slipping on the most padded jacket I had. This was a date with a lion after all.
Sitting alongside the camera crew and my fellow presenter, here with me to make tourism videos on South Africa, I took solace from the fact that the lion I was going to visit was called Mapimpan, which means “little baby” in Shangaan, and it was little more than a year old.
The lion was just a few days old when Arrie, the sanctuary’s resident lion expert, found it wandering the roadside, injured and malnourished.
It had been raised with a view to being released back into the wild. It was made clear that if I wanted to go into the lion’s enclosure it would be entirely at my own risk. It was a chance I was prepared to take.
“You cannot show him any fear. And, above all, don’t turn and run. He’ll think you’re prey,” said Arrie as we approached Mapimpan’s enclosure. I gulped and nodded.
Arrie entered the pen, as the cameras began to roll. Heart surging, I slipped inside and the gate locked behind me. I approached slowly and bent down to stroke Mapimpan’s wiry underbelly. It pawed at my shoes, rolling on to its back. “He likes you,” said Arrie with a smile.
I began to relax, chuckling with disbelief. Then Mapimpan emitted a low growl as it circled around me. “Remember it just wants to play,” said Arrie, sensing my fear.
That was when the lion clamped its jaws around my calf, its teeth sinking into my flesh.
It rose on to its haunches, towering above me and I was spun into a waltz with a 300lb predator – as I pushed desperately at its throat to keep away its jaws. This did not feel like playing.
With a series of fierce clips to Mapimpan’s nose Arrie managed to get it to release me. I had to fight the overwhelming urge to run. But I remembered Arrie’s warning. So I stood there motionless, my heart thudding, my lungs gasping for air.
Mapimpan seemed to be more docile now. I exhaled with relief. But then it slipped back through Arrie’s legs, and was on me again, its teeth bared as it lunged towards my neck. I raised my forearm to divert its jaws from my face, then felt razor-sharp teeth ripping into my shoulder.
The next few seconds were a blur of claws, teeth and shouts as I stumbled around, helpless against the power of this animal.
Not a moment too soon, Arrie managed to free me from Mapimpan’s clutches, cornering it on the far side of the enclosure. It was my cue to leave.
A week has passed since my encounter and people ask whether I blame Arrie for putting me in that predicament, and my answer is still no. It was my choice to go in and it is an experience I will never forget, despite the stitches I needed after “playing” with Mapimpan.
In fact, I look forward to the day I can return to see it in the wild, although this time from the safety of a Land Rover. For that is the lesson I will take from this: too often on safari, tourists dismiss rangers’ warnings and get out of vehicles for a closer look. “They assume it’s safe because the ranger has a gun nearby,” said Arrie. “But they’re wrong. The speed and power of the lion is quite phenomenal – they wouldn’t stand a chance.”
As Frank Bruno, the British boxer, would say when he left the ring to be interviewed after yet another bruising defeat: I know what you mean Arrie.

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/6139806/Daily-Telegraph-writer-mauled-after-entering-lions-enclosure.html)

'Casper" type ghost captured in small shopping mall

Shopping centre camera captures shadow moving around mall

Ghostly ... the strange shape in question is circled.

• Security camera picks up movement
• Other shoppers seemingly unaware
• Some say it's a small ghost

EXTRAORDINARY CCTV footage has captured what could be the ghost of a small child darting across a busy shopping centre.

The shadowy spirit glides in between oblivious shoppers in the eerily clear video, The Sun reports.
The floating phantom figure appears in the bottom right of the screen after a male shopper exits a room to the top left.

It makes its way across the busy concourse and seems to head for the same door the man has just passed through.

The 36-second tape was taken in a shopping mall in Chile, South America, and surfaced on the internet today. It is alleged the image is the ghost of a small local boy.

(http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25591712-401)

By Christmas time get yourself a Dual-screen laptop

Dual-screen laptop on sale by Christmas

The world's first truly dual-screen laptop, which will allow computer users to multi-task while on the move, is due to go on sale by the end of the year.

One of the first photos of the gScreen Spacebook Photo: GIZMODO

 

The pioneering PC, known as the Spacebook, is the brainchild of Alaska-based technology firm gScreen.
While growing numbers of office workers – especially in the financial industries – use several desktop monitors to track many programmes and information sources at the same time, no manufacturer has yet released a portable equivalent.
The gScreen Spacebook will boast two 15.4 in screens which can slide away to fill the space of a single screen when the laptop is being stored or transported.
The first photos of the pioneering gadget have been obtained by Gizmodo, the US technology website.
Gordon Stewart, the founder of gScreen, told the website that the first Spacebooks should be available on Amazon by December this year, once final modifications are complete.
"We designed this knowing that many may not need the extra screen at all times," he said.
The dual-screen laptop is aimed at professional video editors, photographers and designers who need to flick between different applications to carry out their work.
But anyone willing to meet the expected $3,000 price tag should be warned that the double screen is likely to push the weight of the Spacebook significantly above standard laptops. The energy demands of running two monitors will also prove a drain on the computer's batteries.
Other technology firms have produced laptops with smaller bolt-on second screens, but this is believed to be the first model with twin monitors of equal size.

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/6105506/Dual-screen-laptop-on-sale-by-Christmas.html)

Some of the weirdest answers to exam questions..What a laugh!!!

The 25 best exam blunders......

We all have to fail sometimes. But there's something glorious about failing with style.

A new book, F in exams: the best test paper blunders gives some great examples of exam answers from the most clueless - and inventive - of students. Some are very nearly right ("What happens to your body when taking a breath? Your chest gets bigger"), but some are very wrong indeed (Is the moon or the sun more important? The moon gives us sight at night when we need it. The sun only provides light in the day when we don't. Therefore the moon is more important). Laugh...and weep for the state of education!

1) Classical Studies
Question: Name one of the early Romans' greatest achievements.
Answer: Learning to speak Latin

2) Biology
Question: What is a fibula?
Answer: A little lie

3) General Studies
Question: Jeff has been asked to collect data about the amount of television his friends watch. Think of an appropriate question he could ask them.
Answer: How much TV do you watch?

4) Classical Studies
Question: What were the circumstances of Julius Caesar's death?
Answer: Suspicious ones

5) Biology
Question: Give an example of a smoking-related disease
Answer: Early death

6) Geography
Question: What are the Pyramids?
Answer: The Pyramids are a large mountain range which splits France and Spain

7) Biology
Question: What is a plasmid?
Answer: A high definition television

8) English
Question: In Pride and Prejudice, at what moment does Elizabeth Bennet realise her true feelings for Mr Darcy?
Answer: When she sees him coming out of the lake.

9) Geography
Question: What do we call a person forced to leave their home perhaps by a natural disaster or war, without having another home to go to.
Answer: Homeless

10) Religious Studies
Question: Christians only have one spouse, what is this called?
Answer: Monotony

11) Biology
Question: In the Hawaiian Islands, there are around 500 different species of fruit fly. Give a reason for this
Answer: There are approximately 500 varieties of fruit

12) Physics
Question: Name an environmental side effect of burning fossil fuels
Answer: Fire

13) Geography
Question: Define the term "intensive farming".
Answer: It is when a farmer never has a day off.

14) Maths
Question: Change 7/8 to a decimal
Answer: 7.8

15) Geography
Question: What does the term "lava" mean?
Answer: A pre-pubescent caterpillar

16) General Studies
Question: Redundancy is often an unpleasant and unexpected event in someone's life. Give two examples of unexpected life events.
Answer: 1) death 2) Reincarnation

17) History
Question: What was introduced in the Children's Charter of 1908?
Answer: Children

18) Business Studies
Question: Explain the word "wholesaler".
Answer: Someone who sells you whole items - eg, a whole cake

19) Geography
Question: The race of people known as Malays come from which country?
Answer: Malaria

20) Geography
Question:What artificial waterway runs between the Mediterranean and Red Seas?
Answer: The Sewage Canal

21) Geography
Question: Name one famous Greek landmark
Answer: The most famous Greek landmark is the Apocalypse

22) Maths
Question: Expand 2 (x + y)
Answer: 2 ( x + y )
2 ( x + y )
2 ( x + y )

23) Business Studies
Question: Assess Fashion House pls's choice to locate its factory near Birmingham. Is Birmingham the right location for this type of business?
Answer: No. People from Birmingham aren't very fashionable.

24) History
Question: Where was the American Declaration of Independence signed?
Answer: At the bottom.

25) History
Question: What did Mahatma Gandhi and Genghis Khan have in common?
Answer: Unusual names.

(http://timesonline.typepad.com/schoolgate/2008/09/the-20-best-exa.html)

And now a computer game based on H1N1 swine flu...........

The Great Flu computer game takes off!

Pigs in cyberspace ... players of the swine flu game have limited funds and face tough choices to beat the virus

THE clock is ticking, people are dying and a flu virus is sweeping the globe - that is the scenario of a new computer game designed to make people think about how to respond to the swine flu pandemic.

In The Great Flu, players must choose whether or not to stockpile anti-viral drugs and deploy research teams to new areas of outbreak as the number of infections and deaths rises and more countries are affected.

Players face tough choices with limited funds - and taking decisions such as closing major airports does not come cheap.

The game can be played at www.thegreatflu.com and is free.

The game's creators at the Erasmus Medical Centre in the Dutch city of Rotterdam say the online game is "another avenue of information'' about viruses and should not be seen as a substitute for medical advice.

Deborah MacKenzie, a consultant, writing on the New Scientist website, said she found the game was flawed because it was unclear what effect the action that players took had on the virus.

"But if the current swine flu pandemic gets bad and schools close in the fall, there are going to be a lot of teenagers sitting at home with not much to do, and with luck this could breed up a generation of officials that does understand,'' she said.

The current outbreak of swine flu, or the A(H1N1) virus, has killed more than 1450 people worldwide and infected more than 177,000, but that figure understates the full number, since individual cases are no longer reported.

The World Health Organisation, which declared the virus a pandemic said this week infections were starting to decline in the southern hemisphere but picking up in several Asian countries.

(http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25955488-5014239,00.html)

Great White Shark attacking a rescuer

Another viral hoax is this composition of two photographs which was widely circulated in an e-mail in 2001. The e-mail claimed the photo had been chosen as National Geographic's Photo of the Year (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries)

Arnold Schwarzenegger invites Shah Rukh Khan for Dinner in DC

Arnold invites SRK for dinner! Oh Really!! Oh Well, let's see now....

After the detention drama, attempts to please our Bollywood badshaah have started. Shah Rukh Khan has been invited for dinner to Washington DC on September 20 by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

SRK hasn't yet commented whether he would accept the invitation or not.

What do you think you will hear next? May be a SRK-Arnold film together. Till then watch this space for more updates.

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/News/tbd/Arnold-invites-SRK-for-dinner/Article1-445273.aspx)

Official iPhone application launched by Wikipedia

The online collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia is now available for download as an official application on Apple’s iPhone.

A Wikipedia application is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch

The free application, called Wikipedia Mobile, is published by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, and can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store.

It aims to give iPhone and iPod touch users quick and easy access to all sorts of information, ranging from historical events to the life and career of US President Barack Obama. The Wikimedia Foundation said the application was easier to use than having to browse the web on their phone to find a specific fact, and also had the advantage of saving the user's search history.

Several other developers have also created Wiki-style encyclopedia apps for the iPhone and iPod touch. The Wikimedia Foundation acknowledged that while its official software lacked some features compared to existing applications, it was focusing on "speed and simplicity" with the first version of its software.

The Foundation said it would added further features in future versions based on requests from users, and welcomed contributions from other developers and programmers.

More than 1.5 billion applications have been sold through the iTunes App Store since it launched last July, with thousands of developers creating tens of thousands of programs which consumers can download to enhance their user experience on the iPhone and iPod touch.

Wikipedia recently announced that web users had contributed more than three million English-language articles to the site, which anyone can contribute to.

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/wikipedia/6054502/Wikipedia-launches-official-iPhone-application.html)

BOSTON, MA...The best place on the east coast of USA

Boston, USA: my kind of town

Thomas Levenson, the author, enjoys returning to Boston, a smart city with good restaurants and a beautiful formal park.

By Thomas Levenson (11 Aug 2009)

Boston is 'often infuriating, but never dull' Photo.

The Liberty Hotel occupies the site and part of the building of the old Suffolk County Jail

WHY BOSTON?
Because, despite terrible traffic and grotesque winters, it is a genuinely smart town. Often infuriating, but never dull.

WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST WHEN YOU ARE AWAY?
The Public Garden in the heart of Boston, a beautiful formal park, complete with waterfowl pond; the Swan Boats (www.swanboats.com ); the "Make Way For Ducklings" statue; and lots of fine places to eat and drink when one is tired of the promenade.

WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU RETURN?
Have a whisky and/or roast chicken at Hammersley's Bistro (001 617 423 2700; www.hamersleysbistro.com)

WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO STAY?
My favourite place to have a room service breakfast – my wife and I did so here after our wedding night – is the Taj Boston, overlooking the Public Garden (536 5700; www.tajhotels.com, doubles from £155). The Charles Hotel in Harvard Square combines virtues – location, a good jazz club and a top restaurant (864 1200; www.charleshotel.com, doubles from £160); and for sheer cheek, the Liberty Hotel amuses me by occupying the site and part of the building of the old Suffolk County Jail (224 4000; www.libertyhotel.com, doubles from £180).

WHERE WOULD YOU MEET FRIENDS FOR A DRINK?
The Monday Club Bar, 91 Winthrop Street (864 1933; www.upstairsonthesquare.com) – high ceilings, a fire in winter; or No. 9 Park (742 9991; www.no9park.com), one of Boston's best restaurants.

WHERE ARE YOUR FAVOURITE PLACES FOR LUNCH?
Mr Bartley's in Harvard Square (354 6559; www.mrbartley.com) No amenities – not even a lavatory. No booze. But real, serious, devoted attention to burgers and a sense of décor that has somehow managed to preserve that early-Sixties vibe in the face of globalised brand blandness.

AND FOR DINNER?
Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger (781 283 5790; www.ming.com/blueginger) survives both the suburban location and the curse of the celebrity chef with genuine surprises like foie gras shumai (dumpling). For a more casual bistro, Chez Henri in Cambridge (354 8980; www.chezhenri.com) offers Cuban-French food.

WHERE WOULD YOU SEND A FIRST-TIME VISITOR?
Fenway Park is one of the most beautiful sports venues in existence and the Red Sox baseball team has a few tickets available on the day of the game (www.redsox.com). But the wise get out of town for a bit – Cape Ann has great beaches, and a couple of archetypal old New England coast towns: Gloucester as the gritty fishing village, and Rockport for summers as they were spent when our parents were children.

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THEM TO AVOID?
The Duck Tours, which trap you on amphibious vehicles for an often inaccurately led tour of the city.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT OR TAXI?
The T (our underground) works well and the bus system is adequate. But part of the pleasure of Boston is the rest of New England, so rent a car.

HANDBAG OR MONEYBELT?
Street crime is not a problem these days. The usual rules for big cities apply.

WHAT SHOULD I TAKE HOME?
Photos – this is a beautiful city.

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/northamerica/usa/6009148/Boston-My-Kind-of-Town.html)

A "New Concorde" may be on the way...........

Supersonic Aerospace International is developing a 'new Concorde'

Nine years since the Concorde disaster supersonic travel looks set to take-off once again

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/6011114/Supersonic-Aerospace-International-is-developing-a-new-Concorde.html)

listen to more than 50,000 radio stations from across the world on your iPhone, BlackBerry or Windows Mobile

WunderRadio

This app allows you to listen to more than 50,000 radio stations from across the world on your iPhone, BlackBerry or Windows Mobile. It means holidays and business trips need never interfere with your Archers listening again. The app also has Twitter integration, enabling users to follow the Twitter feeds of one radio stations while listening to the broadcast of another.

Price: (from £3.99 (approx USD $6.00); wunderradio.com)

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/picture-galleries/5886365/Hottest-gadgets.html?image=2)

Made in China iPhone Nano---Apple launching iPhone Nano

Internet world has been abuzz about Apple launching iPhone Nano for quite sometime. Every few months, grapevines suggest Apple working on a Nano version of iPhone. In fact, only last month a new patent filed by Apple again fueled iPhone Nano rumors. But all these so far remain mere speculations, with no official confirmation.

However, in faraway Shenzhen (China) an iPhone Nano has actually hit the shelves. The made in China iPhone Nano is widely available in the country including on online stores (may be you can check our own grey markets too!). These iPhone Nano models available from several Chinese companies offer several high-end features and come at an attractive price tag.

Here’s looking into the Chinese avatar of iPhone Nano.

Display and dimensions

* Display: 2.4 inch touchscreen LCD, 260 thousand color; 240 x 320px

* Dimensions: 105x55x10mm (LxWxH)

* Language: English, Chinese (Simplified)

* MP3 & MP4 player

* FM radio


Camera & connectivity

* 5 MP Camera, with video recording;

* ROM: 512MB

* Data Transfer: USB cable/ card-reader/Bluetooth (file transmission, voice, stereo)

* Lithium batteries


Miscellaneous features



* Supports caller’s picture option, group ring tone; 64 chord ring tone

* Telephone directories: 300 groups of contacts

* Messages: Supports both SMS and MMS (150 messages, MMS)

* Schedule power on/off: Supports auto start/close

* Standby time: 220-260 hours

* Talk time: 120-180 minutes

* Colours available: Black and silver

* Price $90



(http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4841344.cms)

Hottest gadget

Google Sky Map

Google does more than just internet searches and email – it also has an impressive number of mapping tools, such as this one, which allows you to take a virtual tour of the solar system. By joining forces with astronomers at some of the world’s largest observatories, Google has created a superb rendering of the galaxy that can be explored on an Android-powered phone. Simply point the camera at the night sky and the application automatically identifies which stars are which. You can also search for specific stars and planets. Educational, addictive and free

Price: Free (google.com/sky/skymap.html).

Ten of the Most Audacious Swindles Ever

Hook, Line and Sinker:

Ever since the invention of money there have been con artists out there ready to swindle the unwary out of their cash. Last year around 28 million Britons were targeted, according to the government, and £1 billion was lost in financial scams.

Fortunately, most victims suffer a greater dent to their pride than their bank balance. But some involve the loss of millions or even billions of pounds and cause real financial hardship. Here are ten of the most audacious financial swindles ever.

1. Dave Rhodes, whoever he or she may be, has a lot to answer for. His is the name at the top of the most famous chain letter in the world – which more often than not is sent by e-mail nowadays. The original letter titled “Make Money Fast” and signed by Rhodes began doing the rounds about 20 years ago. Who the original Dave Rhodes was, or if he even existed, has never been ascertained. (A website reputed to be by the original Dave Rhodes is thought to be a hoax.)

Recipients are usually told to send money to the first name or names on a mailing list and then copy the letter to hundreds of other addresses. In return, they are promised huge profits for their small investment. “It is an undeniable law of the universe,” goes one letter promising £40,000 in cash within the next 60 days, “that first we must give to receive. Do this with a big smile on your face because “as ye sew (sic), so shall ye reap.” If you say so.

2. Canadians are usually thought of as law-abiding and frankly boring souls. But they were implicated in one of the nastiest swindles of recent years – the Canadian lottery scam. This involved organised criminals telephoning unsuspecting Brits – often elderly people – claiming they had won a fortune on the Canadian lottery. To claim the prize you had to send money to cover processing fees. In some cases, victims lost more than £40,000.

Those targeted were often chosen because they appeared on “sucker lists” circulated among criminal gangs because they had fallen victim to similar cons in the past.

3. The notorious Women Empowering Women pyramid selling scheme made headline news in 2001 after it swept across the country and left people with heavy losses. The swindle claimed to have women’s interests at heart. “Our main goal is the empowerment of women by providing for them the financial and emotional abilities to support themselves, their loved ones and the community", claimed the schemes’ gushing mission statement.

The scheme encouraged women to sign up family and friends by promising that they would generate £24,000 for each person who invests a £3,000 stake. While a few profited, thousands lost their £3,000 'joining' fee. The scheme resurfaced in 2003, in a more exclusive mode, under the name Hearts, targeting well-heeled society figures including Lady Elizabeth Anson, the Queen’s cousin, and celebrities such as Cilla Black.The government has since attempted to outlaw such scams, but driven by greed, it can only be a matter of time before it rears its ugly head again.

4. Have you ever received an unsolicited e-mail claiming to be from the family of a dead Nigerian dictator or someone high up in that country’s civil service? They will almost certainly have desperately needed help getting the family’s millions out of the country (their bank accounts have been frozen, you see). Did they ask you to provide them with money and supply your bank account details to help them transfer money out of the country? Then you’ve been targeted by the infamous Nigerian “419” scam. In return for your help they promise a handsome reward: in reality they empty your bank account.

These 419 scams have been so widespread that some enterprising individuals have started to fight back by scamming the scammers with some very funny results. Check out 419eater.com or thescambaiter.com

5. They say love is blind, which is perhaps why fraudsters are increasingly targeting victims through online dating services. It’s the ideal time to catch you with your defences- and maybe even your pants - down. Malihu Ramu, a married Singaporean woman was sentenced to six months in jail earlier this year after conning a man in America out of $45,000 (£22,000) after she promised to marry him.

Ramu used a false name and photographs of Bollywood actress Gayatri Joshi on an online chat room to seduce her prey. Using all the arts of seduction, she asked for the money to cover her mother's funeral expenses and for a friend's wedding. It was only when she asked him for more cash that his suspicions were aroused and he called in the police. To find out more take a look at romancescam.com.

6. One of the most popular scams is the pyramid scheme, and in 1920 trickster Charles Ponzi gave his name to the granddaddy of them all – the Ponzi scam. Ponzi raked in millions of dollars from Americans who were taken in by his promise to double their money in 90 days by trading hoax postal coupons. About 40,000 people invested about $15m (£7m) all together – which is worth about $150m in today’s money.

Returns were paid to the first investors out of the funds received from those who invested later – with Ponzi siphoning off a large chunk of the cash for himself. The simple arithmetic of the scheme meant that soon thousands and then millions of people were needed to keep passing money up through the pyramid chain. The scheme collapsed, Ponzi ended up in jail and the swindled investors got back only about a third of their funds, but it hasn’t stopped it being replicated thousands of times since.

7. Millions of Albanians lost their life savings in what must the most damaging pyramid selling trick ever: it caused rioting in the streets, brought down the government and sparked a near civil war in this desperately poor Balkan state in south-west Europe. About two-thirds of the population of the former Communist dictatorship were duped by a series of these schemes in the 1990s, which initially received the support of the government.

Thousands sold their houses and farmers flogged their livestock to invest in them, entranced by the promise of huge riches- more than 100 per cent a year at the peak of the mania. The dream didn’t last and the schemes crumbled leaving many Albanians penniless while thousands died in the ensuing violence.

8. Most con men are shady characters who try to keep a low profile, but they don’t always hide from the public gaze. The Barlow Clowes affair is one of Britain’s most notorious frauds. In the eighties, the firm attracted the savings of 18,000 private investors who believed they were putting their money into risk-free government bonds. In fact, hundreds of millions of pounds of this money was being diverted into the bank account of co-founder Peter Clowes, who spent the cash on private aircraft, cars, homes and a luxury yacht. Barlow Clowes collapsed in 1988 after the con was uncovered.

9. Some con-artists really know how to tug on the heartstrings. Eugene and Kathryn Stabe were charged with swindling $13,000 out of people in their home town of Huntington Indiana by claiming their daughter was dying of leukaemia. They said they wanted to fulfil as many of her dreams as possible before she passed away and used the generous donations to take the whole family to Disney World in Florida. The child was in fact in perfect health.

10. It only had to be a matter of time before financial scams made it into the virtual word. Earlier this year, Ginko Financial, a bank in the life simulation game Second Life tempted customers with the promise of unrealistically high returns of 40 per cent to 60 per cent. It quickly collapsed leaving some people nursing large real life losses. Then another bank, imaginatively called “The Bank” became embroiled in another scandal after it stopped processing customer withdrawals and its owner “Jasper Tizzy” and his staff – Paydayloan Lindman and Teanna Nomura - disappeared In Second Life players use "Linden dollars", which are converted into and out of real cash using a special exchange. Some residents lost 2.5m Linden dollars when the bank went bust – that’s the equivalent of about £5,000.

Whether these were actual scams or business mistakes have yet to be ascertained. But with no official law and order in Second Life, one thing is guaranteed: investors can wave good bye to the money they have lost.

List compiled by David Budworth. (http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2007/11/hook-line-and-s.html)

Times Money's top 10 investment gurus

Times Money's top 10 investment gurus

Genuine stock market experts are a rare breed, and their investment thinking is never more valuable than when the financial world is in turmoil, as it is today.

So here at Times Money we have come up with a list of our top ten stock market gurus of all time.

1. Benjamin Graham

He is generally regarded as one of the most influential thinkers on investment management. His book, the Intelligent Investor, is still selling more than 50 years after he wrote it.

Mr Graham’s basic idea was that you should be looking to buy companies worth ten dollars a share for five dollars a share. The way you determined which companies were selling at way below their book value was to make a detailed study of their balance sheets. He believed in cautious investment following thorough analysis and abhorred ill-informed speculation.

2. Warren Buffett.

The ‘sage of Omaha’ has put his investment skills to good use and is now the world’s richest man. In the process he has made millionaires out of many of the shareholders in Berkshire Hathaway, his main investment vehicle.

Mr Buffett’s basic idea is that there are a handful of truly outstanding businesses around - and a lot of mediocre ones. The investor’s skill comes in identifying the rare great businesses and then in waiting for the moment when a great business is selling at a really attractive price. He is down to earth - he won’t invest in a business he doesn’t understand - and very patient. He is prepared to wait a long time for the right sort of company to turn up. As he would put it, he is like a baseball player who is ready to stand at the plate for ball after ball until he finds one he can hit into the stands.

3. Philip Fisher

Mr Fisher, the father of Ken Fisher, was a renowned growth investor who was a passionate exemplar of the "buy and hold" approach.

His main idea was that the best way to invest is to buy a limited number of outstanding stocks and simply hold them for years and years. If you have chosen the right stocks in the first place - and that’s obviously a big if - then their real quality will shine through over the long term.
He was very definitely not an in and out trader. As he put it: “If the job has been done correctly when a common stock is purchased, the time to sell it is - almost never.”

4. T Rowe Price

Mr Price shared the long-term perspective of investors such as Philip Fisher. He, too, believed in the virtues of "buy and hold" and practised them with a vengeance. In 1972, looking back at a portfolio he had started in the 1930s, he found that he had held a number of stocks, such as Merck, the pharmaceutical company, and Black & Decker, the household tool company, for more than 30 years. Over that time they had made him a lot of money.

5. John Templeton

Sir John, who died earlier this year, was a classic contrarian investor. He embodied the dictum : "Buy when others are frantically selling and sell when others are greedily buying". While others were looking for gems in a jewel shop, he would be looking for diamonds in a dustbin. He was quite happy to buy what others were throwing away and believed that the stocks offering the best value would be those that other investors had completely neglected.

His most celebrated coup came in 1939, just after war had broken out in Europe. He reasoned, correctly, that although the immediate outlook was bleak, the war would provide a massive boost to US industry. He instructed his broker to buy 100 dollars’ worth of every single Wall Street stock that was priced at a dollar or less. Within four years he had sold his unusual portfolio of stocks for four times its original value.

6. Mark Mobius

Dr Mobius is from the Templeton stable of investment managers and has become a specialist in emerging markets. He shares something of Mr Templeton’s contrarian style. As he puts it: “We seek out shares that other investors have rejected. We go where others fear to tread.”

But above all he is a value-based stockpicker. He focuses on putting together a portfolio of good quality stocks, irrespective of which country they are from. One of his great strengths is that he immerses himself in his subject, travelling tens of thousands of miles each year to visit companies and meet their managements. He says:, “At Templeton we like to get out from behind our desks. We are also active investors, ready to get alongside management and take a seat on the board.”

7. Anthony Bolton

Mr Bolton is perhaps the best known UK fund manager of recent years, though he has now stepped back from the hands on running of funds. Like Mark Mobius he is a contrarian investor, as he demonstrated recently by indicating that he was putting some of his own money into bank shares just when everyone else was seeking to make a rapid exit from the sector.

One of his great skills is correctly anticipating market trends. He foresaw the end of the most recent bull run some months before the market peaked in the summer of 2007 and had already battened down the hatches before the market storms set in.

8. Neil Woodford.

Mr Woodford has taken over Mr Bolton’s mantle of best known UK fund manager and one of his great skills is being able to achieve very good performance with enormous sums of money that would weigh down a lesser investor. His two principal funds contain more than £13 billion of investors’ money.

Mr Woodford, like Mr Bolton, is something of a contrarian investor, and he shows considerable skill in keeping ahead of the investment pack. He had been warning about the excessive levels of debt in the UK and US long before the credit crunch struck and had sold all his bank and property shares before those two sectors collapsed.

He takes a top-down view of the economy and is not afraid to make big sector bets. In the past few years he has invested heavily in tobacco and utilities at a time when they were distinctly unfashionable areas to put your money.

9. Nils Taube.

Mr Taube, who died earlier this year, was Britain’s longest-serving fund manager. Like John Templeton he was fond of buying stocks that had been overlooked by other investors. He made a name for himself by keeping a cool head during the stock market slump of 1973-74 and was investing when most other people had despaired of shares ever recovering.

He called the market right again in 1987, when he anticipated the October crash of that year and was selling stocks short in the months running up to the dramatic drop in share prices.

10. Robin Geffen.

Mr Geffen might be viewed as something of a "new boy" because his company, Neptune Investment Management, was launched only in 2002. But Mr Geffen has nearly 30 years of investment management experience under his belt and it is now showing in the outstanding performance of his Neptune stable of funds.

Mr Geffen takes a thematic approach to investment and, like Mr Woodford, is prepared to take big sector bets. He is not constrained by index weightings and will seek out value wherever he finds it. He is quite prepared to go against the trend where he thinks this makes sense. For example while energy companies make up 60 per cent of the Russian stock market Mr Geffen’s Russian fund has just 22 per cent of its portfolio in energy.

(http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2008/10/ten-investment.html)

The 10 biggest winners from the financial crisis

High street retailers, estate agents, Iceland…the casualties of the economic crisis are all too familiar. But while there are losers, others have profited from the doom.

We’ve rounded up ten credit crunch Houdinis who’ve escaped the financial crisis and are laughing all the way to the ailing bank.

1. Andrew Lahde
Andew Lahde, a California based hedge-fund manager, made 888 per cent profits last year when his company Lahde Capital bet against US sub-prime mortgage assets. In September this year Mr Lahde decided he was rich enough to retire, closed his fund and released a letter, which has become an internet sensation.

The opening paragraph begins: “Today I write not to gloat, given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate.” In a petulant rant he then, bizarrely, goes on to ask the American government to recognise the benefits of growing marijuana and urges bankers to bin their blackberries and go on holiday.

2. John Paulson
Last year, John Paulson, a New York-based hedge fund manager, outsmarted Wall Street and made nearly $2 billion by betting against mortgage backed securities. Much derided for cashing in on others' misery, he has shown few regrets, telling the Wall Street Journal: “I've never been involved in a trade that had such unlimited upside with a very limited downside."

3. Barack Obama
The final straight of the presidential race has coincided nicely with the meltdown of the global financial system, providing a serendipitous marketing tool for Mr Obama. As voters watch the stock market plummet, the Democrats have offered to clean up the economic mess that the Republicans will leave behind.

4. Gordon Brown
A couple of months ago the Prime Minister was against the ropes. Now he’s being lauded as the rescuer of the banks. In an article in the New York Times entitled “Gordon does good” Paul Krugman, who two weeks ago picked up the Nobel Prize for economics said: “Luckily for the world economy, Gordon Brown and his officials are making sense… they may have shown us the way through this crisis.” Mr Brown’s polls ratings are starting to creep up and Labour, it seems, are back in the game.

5. Ronald McDonald
Don’t expect to bump into Ronald in the dole queue any time soon. As slightly pricier restaurant chains stare at gloomy sales figures, cheap and cheerful fast food joints are watching profits soar. McDonalds has seen two million extra customers a month compared with last year and is intending to create 4,000 new jobs in response.

6. Karl Marx
Dust off your headscarf, Marx is making a comeback. German bookstores have experienced a 300 per cent increase in sales of Das Kapital in recent months, and visitors are flocking to Marx’s birthplace in Trier – 40,000 so far this year. Jörn Schütrumpf, head of the Berlin publishing house Dietz, which brings out the works of Marx said: “We have a new generation of readers who are rattled by the financial crisis and have to recognise that neo-liberalism has turned out to be a false dream.”

7. Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase
With more than $900 billion in deposits, JP Morgan Chase is now America’s biggest savings business after it bailed out the failed Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual. Despite the market turmoil, its employees, not least its chief executive Jamie Dimon, can expect a nice Christmas box this year – staff have already been paid £700m in bonuses. Even better news for Dimon if rumour is to be believed, is that he will replace Hank Paulson as Treasury Secretary if Barack Obama makes it to the White House.

8. The Magic Circle
The paperwork is piling up on the desks of lawyers at Magic Circle firms such as Clifford Chance, Linklaters and Allen&Overy since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Icelandic banks. Some top City lawyers are now demanding up to £900 an hour to dish out their advice on insolvency and restructuring. Fraud litigators are also feeling plush, as fraudsters are easier to spot during economic downturns.

9. Emilio Botin, chairman of Santander
Spanish Santander has been fattening itself up on high street banks rather than subprime mortgages, and thanks to a tough stance on exotic investment is now the world’s fifth largest bank based on the profits it generates. Already the owner of Abbey, Santander’s rescue of Alliance & Leicester and Bradford &Bingley mean that Mr Botin oversees almost 25million UK customers.

10. Bart Becht, chief executive of Reckitt Benckiser
The world’s biggest household detergent group and the makers of Cillit bang, Reckitt Benckiser has posted record profits of £373m for the last quarter. Apparently, as none of us can afford to leave the house or go out to eat we are staying in to clean the loo and stack the dishwasher instead.

List compiled by Laura Whateley (http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2008/10/the-10-biggest.html)

Ten people who predicted the financial meltdown

The financial events of recent weeks have filled many of us with shock and panic. Surely no one could have predicted that we would be in this mess? Well, actually, they did. Here are ten people who saw the financial meltdown coming...

1. Vince Cable - deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats

Here is a question Mr Cable’s posed to Gordon Brown, then Chancellor, during Treasury Questions back in November 2003: “The growth of the British economy is sustained by consumer spending pinned against record levels of personal debt, which is secured, if at all, against house prices that the Bank of England describes as well above equilibrium level. What action will the Chancellor take on the problem of consumer debt?”

Mr Brown did not answer how he would solve the problem, merely replying that: “We have been right about the prospects for growth in the British economy, and the hon. Gentleman (Mr. Cable) has been wrong.”

2. Christopher Wood – chief strategist of CLSA, a broking firm in the Asia-Pacific Market.

In October 2005 Mr Wood wisely declared: "Investors should sell all exposure to the American mortgage securities market." In an interview in 2007, he said: "Some institutions have been behaving like leveraged speculators rather than banks… The UK economy is heading for a sharp shock. It just remains to be seen how bad."

3. Founders of www.stock-market-crash.net – website aimed at investors

The writers of this site claim that predicting crashes is, in fact, easy: “One of the greatest myths of all time is that market crashes are random, unpredictable events. The lead up to a market crash is often years in the making. Certain warning signs exist, which characterize the end of a bull market and the start of a bear market. By learning these common warning signs, you can liquidate your investments and prosper by shorting the market.”

4. Henry Weingarten - astrologer

Mr Weingarten is head of the Astrologers Fund, a New York firm that advises businesses on the basis of planetary movements. He forecast a major economic downturn in March 2007 – so hopefully his clients took note.

His website claims he has in fact made numerous successful predictions about worldwide financial affairs, including “both Mexican 1995 crises, the first 1995 dollar crisis, the 1998 oil collapse and 1999 recovery, and the decline of the Euro after its 1999 birth.”

5. Nouriel Roubini - economics professor

Aka Dr Doom, Dr Roubini is an economics professor at New York University. On September 7, 2006, at an International Monetary Fund meeting, he announced that a crisis was brewing. He said that the United States was likely to face a once-in-a-lifetime housing bust, an oil shock, sharply declining consumer confidence and, ultimately, a deep recession.

Homeowners would default on mortgages, trillions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities would unravel worldwide and the global financial system would shudder to a halt. These developments, he said, would cripple major financial institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

As Mr Roubini stepped down, his host said: “I think perhaps we will need a stiff drink after that.” They do now.

6. Nikolai Kondratiev - Russian Marxist economist

In the early 1920s, Mr Kondratiev proposed a theory that Western capitalist economies have long term (50 to 60 years) cycles of boom followed by depression. These business cycles are now called "Kondratiev waves", or grand supercycles. He predicted an imminent dip, and he was proved right with the Wall Street Crash in 1929.

The current crisis may mean he is about 10 years out – but, still, not a bad prediction for a man who died in 1938.

From the archive: William Rees-Mogg on Kondratiev (1980)

7. Founders of Housepricecrash.co.uk – property website

HousePriceCrash.co.uk was established in October 2003 after its founders predicted “one of the potentially biggest economic boom bust events in living memory” was coming. Its aim, apparently, is to provide a “counterbalance to the huge amounts of positive spin the housing market receives in the main media”.

Whist there is not currently a lot of positive news about the housing market to counter, the site does provide a plethora of information, statistics and forums for those interested in the great house price crash.

8. Lord Oakeshott - Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman

He may not have predicted the entire financial meltdown, but he did warn the Government of the possible collapse of Icelandic banks back in July. He said last week: “"Alarm bells were ringing all over about the Icelandic banks and the Treasury must have been blind and deaf not to hear them."

In a written question to the government in July, he asked: "What steps [have] the United Kingdom financial authorities taken to satisfy themselves, independently of the Icelandic financial authorities, of the solvency and stability of Icelandic banks taking deposits in the United Kingdom?”

Lord Davies, for the Government, replied that there was no concern about the liquidity or capital base of Icelandic banks operating in the UK.

9. Stephen Roach - senior executive at Morgan Stanley

In November 2004, Mr Roach predicted an “economic Armageddon”, in part due to the record US current account, trade and government deficits. His outlook was largely dismissed at the time.

Having being proved right, he recently went on to accuse central banks of being “asleep at the switch” in failing to stop the escalating crisis. “The lack of monetary discipline has become a hallmark of unfettered globalization,” he said.

10. Ron Paul - Republican Congressman

Back in September 2003, Mr Paul told a House Financial Services Committee that: “Ironically, by transferring the risk of a widespread mortgage default, the government increases the likelihood of a painful crash in the housing market.

“This is because the special privileges granted to Fannie and Freddie have distorted the housing market by allowing them to attract capital they could not attract under pure market conditions.” Of course, if we are going to give Mr Paul credit, than we should also highlight the efforts of Peter Schiff, his economic advisor and long-time economic hawk.

(http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2008/10/10-people-who-p.html)

The world's 10 richest pets and pampered pooches

It is the search that is gripping the US nation: which pooch will president-elect Barack Obama choose to be the White House puppy?

A pampered life awaits the dog that gets the nod, what with the run of the 132-room White House and its spacious gardens. Then there's the presidential jet Air Force One to look forward to. A trip to the countryside will never be the same again.

Not that life is going to be easy, what with all those photo shoots and life lived in the public eye. Nothing less than a shiny coat and perfect teeth will do. The press can be so cruel on those bad hair days. And "cavorting" with other canines will definitely be out.

But let's not play down the job's advantages. Mr Obama says that he is ideally looking for a mutt from a shelter home: a rags to riches story that sums up the American dream.

However, it won't be the first pet to embark on a life of luxury and excess. Here are some of the richest animals ever to have walked this earth.

1. Gunther IV - Germen Shepherd

Worth: £90 million

German Countess Karlotta Liebenstein left a staggering fortune of 139 million German marks (about £43 million) to her beloved pet dog Gunther III when she died in 1991. When Gunter III died, the fortune passed to his offspring – imaginatively named Gunther IV – who used it, through a mysterious group of human beings, to, among other things, buy Madonna’s eight-bedroom villa in Miami. Gunther’s property portfolio is also said to include estates in the Bahamas, Italy and Germany and is estimated to be worth £90 million.

A website dedicated to the pampered Alsatian shows him living the Playboy mansion lifestyle. There are photos of Gunther splashing around in swimming pools while bikini-clad women and bronzed muscle men look on adoringly. Read the accompanying text and it gets even weirder. These “five gifted youngsters” it informs you are the Burgundians, the “most talented among a selected group of boys and girls of international origin endowed with special features, beauty, intelligence and independence”.

You couldn't make it up, or maybe you could. Some cynics have questioned whether it is all just an elaborate hoax. Make your own mind up by taking a look at Gunther's website

2. Toby Rimes - Poodle

Worth: £45 million

Toby Rimes, worth the equivalent of £45m in dollars, is a descendant of a pooch left £15m in New York in 1931.

3. Kalu - Chimpanzee

Worth: £42.5 million

Kalu, a chimpanzee, was adopted by Patricia O’Neill, daughter of the Countess of Kenmore, after she found her tied to a tree in Zaire. On her death Mrs O'Neill stunned her husband, the former Australian swimming champion Frank, by leaving her entire estate near Cape Town, South Africa, to Kalu. She said she couldn’t bear the thought of what might happen to the chimp after she died. All together now- Awwwww.

4. Pepe le Pew, Ani and Frankie – Two cats and a Chihuahua

Worth: £18 million

Chihuahua Frankie and cats Ani and Pepe Le Pew each had a third of a San Diego mansion worth around £10 million left to them. The reclusive millionairess who granted them the house also left £8.1million in cash for the three to share. I wonder what they've spent it on - Tuna sachets and dog bones?

5. Flossie – Labrodor mix

Worth: £3 million

Drew Barrymore, the actor (above), placed a £3 million Beverly Hills mansion in trust for her dog, Flossie, in 2002 after it woke up her and husband, Tom Green, in time to escape from a house fire. As the blaze caught hold in the early hours of the morning, Drew's faithful dog ran upstairs and banged on their bedroom door with its tail to alert them to the danger.

6. Trouble - Maltese Terrier

Worth: £1.1million

New York hotel magnate Leona Helmsley, dubbed the "Queen of Mean" during a 1989 trial for tax evasion, left $12 million of her estimated $8 billion estate for the upkeep of her Maltese terrier Trouble. Two of her four grandchildren meanwhile got nothing. Unsurprisingly, the request by Helmsley, famous for her quip that "only the little people pay taxes," sparked nothing but trouble. After the will was contested, the pooch, who was spoon fed gourmet foods by maids, was stripped of $10 million by a Manhattan judge. Fortunately the $2 million left is enough to keep Trouble in the lap of luxury. The mutt's annual expenses come in at $190,000, including $100,000 for round-the-clock security, $60,000 for his guardianship fee, $8,000 for grooming and $1,200 for food.

7. Tinker - Cat

Worth: £450,000

Tinker, an eight-year-old cat from North London, inherited a £450,000 fortune after Margaret Layne, an elderly widow who found him as a stray, left him a three-bedroom house in Harrow and a £100,000 trust fund. Her will makes clear that the black cat, aged about eight, should not stray again. "If Tinker abandons the property permanently the trustees shall at their discretion be entitled to bring the trust to an end," says the will.

8. Tina and Kate - Collie crosses

Worth: £450,000

Tina and Kate, owned by Nora Hardwell, were left £450,000, the run of their owner’s home and five acres in Peasedown, St John, near Bath. The will also demanded that a carer must be employed to look after the two dogs, and that the house must be kept clean at all times.

9. Silverstone - tortoise - and friends

Worth: £100,000 plus

Silverstone the tortoise and a number of cats were provided for from the £59million estate of Christina Foyle, the late owner of Foyle's bookshop in London. When she died in 1999 Ms Foyle left the cats a house in Essex and £100,000 to her handyman to look after the tortoise.

10. The Queen Mum's collection of livestock

Worth: £8,000 each

150 Aberdeen Angus cattle and 200 North Country Cheviot sheep were the beneficiaries of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's will. She left a £3 million trust to protect the herds on the Castle of Mey Farm which is shared with a collection of goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits and two lovebirds. Each is worth about £8,000. Good on you, ma'am.

(http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2008/11/the-worlds-10-m.html)

25 reasons to avoid the new iPhone

The wait is over. The iPhone 3G goes on sale today, and no doubt hordes of Apple fans will be queing outside Carphone Warehouse and outlets of O2 mobile - the only supplier - to get their hands on the hugely hyped handset.

Here at Times Money we were pretty scathing of the original iPhone (take a look at 50 reasons not to buy an iPhone), but Apple claims that its new version is a huge improvement. It is being billed as twice as fast and half as expensive as its debut model.

Given that Apple kept the phone under wraps ahead of the launch it's difficult to know whether the new phone is all its cracked up to be. If the hype is true it will certainly be a huge improvement on the original model. But there are downsides. Maybe not 50 this time around, but here are 25 things to consider before parting with your cash.

1. It's less expensive than its predecessor but still not cheap. The 8GB version is free to O2 customers who spend £45 a month or more on a new 18-month contract. The handset, available from 02, Carphone Warehouse and Apple outlets will cost £99 on a new £30 monthly tariff and the existing £35 per month tariff.

2. For the more powerful 16GB version it will cost £159 on the £30 and £35 tariffs, £59 on the £45 tariff and will only be free on the £75 tariff. So the cheapest deal over 18 months - the 8GB version on the £30 tariff - costs £599. For that you get "unlimited" internet surfing but a measly 75 free calls a month and 125 texts. You can compare it with existing deals here.

3. It will not be available on Pay & Go till later this year. This has angered some O2 customers. Moreover, it is in super-short supply even on contract, with only a few dozen initially supplied to each O2 store.

4. The touch screen isn't great if you're an obsessive texter. This was a problem with the first iPhone, although this guy seems to have cracked it.

5. Like the Model T-Ford the 8GB model is available in any colour - as long as its black.

6. Go for the more expensive 16GB version and you can get it in white too. Rumours had been that Apple was going to be a little more adventurous.

7. Its camera is rubbish. At just two megapixels with no flash it's worse than many standard phones leaving even fans feeling short changed. Phones such as the Nokia N95 boast five megapixels.

8. You can’t use it to take videos, leading some critics to the conclusion that it’s not sexy enough.

9. Like its predecessor the 3G handset is large and bulky. Not something you can just stick in your pocket and forget about. True, the new phone is thinner at the edges and weighs slightly less than the debut model, but otherwise the measurements are the same. It’s even been nicknamed the monolith.

10. To enable Apple to cut costs something had to go. The original iPhone had a hard-wearing silver aluminum back; the new one a less durable black plastic skin. So will it be able to cope with a beating like this?

11. The absence of a metal back means that it is unlikely to blend as prettily as its predecessor.

12. It’s going to be popular with terrorists if Apple's official ad is anything to go by.

13. Battery life is poor - just five to six hours of 3G calls or web browsing. One reviewer found that the indicator fell below 20 per cent by early to mid-afternoon on some trial days.

14. The battery is sealed into the handset, which must be sent off for replacement when it starts to wear out. This is a hassle and means that you can't carry around a spare for use on the move.

15. It inspires people with anger issues to post pointless and mistitled videos at Youtube.

16. If you are an Apple fan, you already own the old iPhone. Much of the new handset's improved functionality is already available in the free 2.0 software update.

17. If you are not an Apple fan, you may be an Apple "hater". In that case, you wouldn't want one.

18. If you live away from the big cities, you may well not have 3G coverage (check here). That would make the whole 3G phone thing pointless...

19. It has no instant messaging function - forcing users to SMS. But it doesn't have multimedia messaging (MMS), which means that users must send and receive photos by email.

20. The web browser has limited Adobe Flash support, so cannot display videos from many sites.

21. Incredibly for a "smart" phone, it has no copy and paste ability. Duh.

22. Who needs a phone with GPS? Anyway, it can't find a decent pizza when you need one.

23. The iPhone is sometimes termed the "Jesusphone". Tasteless.

24. Bluetooth enables headset voice calls on the new handset. A less-limited Bluetooth profile could have enabled wireless music streaming and file sharing, too.

25. Its unveiling by Steve Jobs, of Apple, was predictably and unbearably smug.

(http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2008/07/reasons-to-avoi.html)