David Beckham was welcomed onto the England coaching bench in South Africa by Fabio Capello. (AFP/Getty)

Johannesburg, South Africa – Germany did it with great success. Argentina and Brazil are doing it right now, and both teams are setting the pace in South Africa. Holland did it with less impressive results. But these great footballing nations weren’t afraid to try it – and now it’s time for the English Football Association to fast-track one of its favourite sons into managing the national side.

The FA has told Fabio Capello that he will learn his fate soon. Capello is a proud man with an enviable record in the game – he's a proven winner. But despite the hype surrounding his appointment – not to mention his wage demands – he has proved to be another disappointment for the FA and English football fans.

Capello should be let go and replaced by David Beckham. The FA’s hitherto unsuccessful policy of searching the planet for a coach has left the game’s commentators asking: Is this the only solution? Is the country that brought the game to the world now so tactically deficient that – like an emerging football nation – it needs to go and ask the experts for some help? And how much more compensation is the FA prepared to pay for sacking its big-name signings?

There are very few players – very few people – who know the England set-up as well as Beckham. This experience cannot be underplayed; several former international players have told me that being part of the England team – or any national side – is akin to being part of a club. It’s a way of life, with tradition, values and of course a unique set of pressures.

The case in favor of handing Becks the job is compelling. He has shown he is a born leader with the respect of his men. He is one of the most-capped players in England’s history, and has played in three World Cups. Only an injury prevented him from playing any part in a fourth this year.

But Beckham was in South Africa, condemned to the bench and kicking every ball with his teammates from afar. And this helps understand his key attribute: Beckham understands the importance of England to the fans. He understands that it is not enough to just pull on an England shirt.

More than any of his contemporaries, Beckham has the ability to balance the privileged position of the modern footballer with the determination to succeed for his country. Which other player would roll up his sleeves and drag the team to a World Cup finals in the way Beckham did against Greece in 2001?

And, of course, there is national pride. Both the fans and the FA need someone in the top job who is not only someone they respect, and not only someone with great football experience, but someone who can restore their belief. For some of the richest men in world sport, does an extra million dollars a year on their contracts really provide the necessary incentive to dedicate their hearts and souls to the cause? It’s impossible to judge.

Franz Beckenbauer was one of the most talented, most-capped players in the history of the game. After two short spells in the U.S. with New York Cosmos he returned to his native West Germany in 1984 as coach of the national squad. He took the team to two consecutive World Cup finals – winning the trophy in 1990.

Beckham may not make the team sheet in the all-time World XI, but he can be England’s Beckenbauer. Like the Germans in the 1980s, the FA needs to lure its hero back from the States, where he is still under contract with Los Angeles Galaxy. If it’s good enough for the likes of Brazil, Argentina and Germany, then it’s good enough for England too.

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2007: A model wears a piece from Australian designer 'FashionAssassin.' The fashion industry will now ban the use of dangerously thin models on the runway.

The Australian fashion industry is preparing to ban skinny models from catwalks and magazines, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Designers will no longer be able to hire models with a body mass index that is deemed dangerously low or use male models who are too muscular, the Telegraph reported.

Australia’s Youth Minister Kate Ellis said magazines, agencies and fashion labels that met a number of criteria would be awarded a new body-image tick of approval. The campaign is part of a massive overhaul to tackle body image issues among Aussies.

The criteria includes the use of models no younger than 16; stocking a wide variety of shapes and sizes in stores; using more shapes, sizes and ethnicities in editorial work and campaigns and not promoting rapid weight loss, surgery or excessive exercise.

“Body image is an issue that we must take seriously because it is affecting the health and happiness of substantial sections of our community,” Ellis said.

Click here to read more from the Daily Telegraph.

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There’s still almost two weeks of World Cup 2010 to go, but 56 of the 64 matches have now been played. That’s all of the group stage, plus eight knockout games in the Round of 16. So while the best is yet to come (looking at you, Netherlands vs Brazil), the majority of this World is now in the rear view mirror.

So I’m interested to hear: What grade would you give World Cup 2010 so far? More importantly, why? Would you give it an A+ for providing plenty of entertaining games? Or an F for the refereeing controversies that affected USA, England and Mexico. Maybe you’re a Ghana fan, and your team’s performance alone is enough to make you give a high grade. Or maybe you’re a France or Italy fan (you can’t be both) and your team’s ignominious exit was bad enough for you to label World Cup 2010 a failure. You’re the teacher here, so the grading system is up to you.

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In this screencast, we’ll cover the basics of recording in Apple’s Logic Pro (subscription required) audio workstation software.

Topics covered include:
• Adding Tracks
• Recording Tips
• Cycle Mode
• Punching In

If you haven’t already, we suggest you watch our Logic Pro 101 video before this one.

Below is a sample of the video. The full screencast clocks in at just over 20 minutes.

View full post on TheAppleBlog

(CNN) – Asian markets opened lower after the Dow dropped 268 points and the S&P hit an eighth-month low, following similar tumbles in Europe.

It doesn’t augur well for the start of what some claim is the year’s most important trading day.

Several factors have sent global markets down in the past 24 hours: weak economic data from Japan, including a rise in unemployment; softening consumer confidence in the U.S.; and a report that suggests the white-hot Chinese economy is cooling. London's FTSE and Frankfurt's Xetra Dax both closed down more than 3 percent Tuesday. The Paris CAC 40 closed down more than 4 percent.

There’s also new concern over European banks which are due to repay part of a $540 billion loan to the central bank on Thursday.

“It’s almost a butterfly effect,” Savanth Sebastian, equities economist with Commonwealth Bank, told CNN’s Colleen McEdwards. “This host of negative data is certainly taking its toll.”

It’s a tough run-up for today, June 30 – end of the first half of the year, and a day that some say presages how the market will finish the year. “Historically the way the market finishes tomorrow is the way we finish the year,” Alan Valdes of DME Securities told CNN’s Alison Kosik in New York on Tuesday. “If we finish tomorrow on the down, we could be in for a tough year ahead.”

Sebastian points out that there is double-digit growth for a lot of Asian countries; the weaker euro has improved exports out of Germany and that despite the ups and downs the United States is still in recovery.

Still, if the past is any indication, stock performance at the end of the first half will set the tone for the next six months. Markets across Asia opened down: At 10 a.m. Hong Kong time, the Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was down 2.13 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index down 1.27 percent, and S&P/ASX 200 index in Sydney was down 1.77 percent.

View full post on Business 360

Jennifer Hudson is opening up about the vicious murder of her three members of her family last year.

The singer and new mom tells Vh1’s “Behind the Music” that the death of her mother Darnell, brother Jason and nephew Julian was “all a blur.”

“It was surreal,” she said. “It was like I was outside of myself.”

The three were shot by William Balfour, the estranged husband of Hudson’s sister Julia. In the weeks following, the Oscar-winner said she went into complete seclusion to cope with her grief.

“For almost two weeks straight . . . [I was] inside one room with just family and friends coming in and out,” she says. “I prayed when I’d get up in the morning and prayed before I laid down at night.”

Hudson’s first performance following the murders came in January of 2009, when she sang “You Pulled Me Through” at the Grammys.

Since then, she has given birth to a son David, with her fiancé David Otunga.

Hudson says her 11-month-old “reminds me of my nephew” and that being a mother helps her remember her own.

“In so many ways I channel her because she was such a great mom,” she said.

Click here to read more from People magazine.

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After Portugal’s defeat, a stalkerazzi was walking Cristiano Ronaldo off the field – presumably without being invited – which was received with a spit by the divo. Was it intentional? Sure looks like it. The cameraman then clearly backs away, so we don’t know if he was hit – probably not, given Cristiano’s accuracy in SA – but it appeared to be something of a message. Let’s hope it didn’t hit the nice cameraman, because we sure as hell don’t know where Ronaldo’s mouth has been.

So much like ‘06, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano are inextricably linked: both had their most notable moments after the game, towards the camera.

No wonder both teams were kayoed in the second round.

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iWork on the iPad has its good and bad points, and honestly, I prefer using Documents to Go for my word-processing purposes. But it looks pretty, and it’s nice to know it’s there in case I have to edit some Pages documents on the spot.

It’d be nice to know I could do the same on the iPhone, too, but so far, iWork is iPad only. Recent evidence suggests that won’t long be the case, though. There’s lots to indicate iWork will arrive on the iPhone, from Apple themselves and from spy shots showing the app in action.

First, there’s Apple’s own admission that it will be coming soon to the iPhone, unless it’s just a typo, which doesn’t seem likely. An AppleCare product description on Apple Store websites where the iPhone is sold unlocked (in the UK and Canada, for example) contains a line that says it covers consulting experts regarding “using iWork for iPhone and other Apple-branded iPhone apps.” It wouldn’t just be a typo if it was a mistake, it would be in the absolute wrong place.

Add that to the “Open in Keynote” prompt discovered by Engadget a few weeks ago, and it seems likely that iWork is a lock for the iPhone. If you needed more convincing, though, there’s new screenshots posted over at 9to5mac that show the actual iWork app in action. The screens seem pretty well tailored to the iPhone, so it’s unlikely that this is just another case of someone shoehorning the iPad version on the iPhone’s smaller screen.

The big question is, will iWork come to all versions of the iPhone, or will Apple invent limitations that allow it to run only on the iPhone 4, like they’ve done with iMovie?

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Verizon Wireless will reportedly offer Apple’s iPhone in January of 2011, after AT&T’s exclusivity deal ends, writes Bloomberg, which cites two unnamed people familiar with the plans. Verizon has so far been unable to offer Apple’s popular smartphone, despite pent-up demand among its 92 million subscribers. But although there have been numerous Verizon iPhone rumors in the past — many we skipped over — this particular one rings true, for two reasons.

AT&T has locked in a lot of users in the most recent iPhone upgrade cycle. AT&T knows when its exclusive iPhone deal ends with Apple, even if others don’t. So the carrier will likely plan accordingly for any churn and lost customers that would defect for an iPhone on Verizon’s network after its exclusivity ends. If Verizon is getting the iPhone in 2011, it would make sense for AT&T to lock in as many iPhone 4 customers as possible beforehand. And AT&T was indeed generous in advancing the iPhone 4 eligibility dates for current iPhone 3GS customers — that offer locked new iPhone 4 owners in for an additional two years under a newly raised termination fee.

Apple to offer big upgrades and 4G is a big upgrade. If Verizon gets an iPhone in January, it’s likely to be a 3G device using Verizon’s CDMA network, despite the fact that Verizon is planning to launch LTE service in some markets before the end of this year. I’d expect a Verizon iPhone with EVDO capability in January because Verizon will still need two more years to fully extend LTE to its entire network. And that gives Apple the opportunity to offer an upgraded iPhone with LTE service later in 2011 — an upgrade strategy that Apple has followed in the past by offering a device that has room for improvements in the near future.

Verizon has responded to our request for comment by saying via email, “We don’t comment on rumors and speculation.” Readers, what do you think?

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

4G: State of the Union

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Portugal looked equal to Spain for much of this game, and had their share of chances. Cristiano Ronaldo had a couple of strikes at Iker Casillas, and there was a moment where Tiago’s shot forced Casillas into a weak parry that almost allowed Hugo Almeida to beat him to the rebound. But only almost.

The longer the game went on, the more possession Spain seemed to have. Pass, pass, pass. Yet Portugal’s defence – unbreached in the group stage, even against Brazil – was a securely closed door. Secure that is until Andres Iniesta and Xavi unpicked the lock with quick and precise passing to send David Villa one one one with Eduardo:

I’m in absolute awe of that goal. The pace the ball moves at in such constricted space seems to break several laws of physics, and serves as a warning that Spain can work the ball beyond any backline that’s put in front of them. I hope Paraguay weren’t watching.

Extended highlights (via 101 GG):

Reactions to Spain 1-0 Portugal, at the Spain blog and the Portugal blog.

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