While the iPad fits a niche between an iPhone and a laptop, I’m still having trouble thinking of it as a truly mobile platform. Sure, it’s light and portable for easy touring, but I recall Fender once marketed the very-bulky Fender Twin Reverb in the same way.

Instant messaging apps on the iPad underscore the fact that the iPad is more likely to stay in my bag than be used while out and about. Very rarely do I have a serious conversation via IM, and I tend to use it as a form of text messaging while I’m on the train home or running errands. However, I do find myself using an iPad IM client when I’m using the device as an accessory computer. Often, while playing a game on my Mac, I’ll have the iPad next to me with an IM client open.

Last year, I wrote an article highlighting 10 Instant Messaging Apps for the iPhone. This year’s iPad version is slightly different. As with the iPhone apps, I found it really came down to BeejiveIM, IM+ Pro, and AIM, so I’m going to take a closer look at those this time.

Before I get to the analysis, here are a few explanations: Both BeejiveIM and IM+ connect to the usual services: AIM, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, MySpace, Yahoo and Facebook. IM+ also connects to Skype chat and Twitter. AIM will connect to AIM, MobileMe, and Facebook.

Obviously, none of these will connect to any proprietary corporate IM service.

You can also change your background in both paid apps, but I find that to be of limited value.

Beejive IM ($9.99)

I’ll get the one big strike against Beejive out of the way early: It’s not a Universal app, so if you own the iPhone version, be prepared to pony up another 10 bucks.

Of the two paid apps, I feel Beejive has the better interface. The screenshot below is a sample shot, but under where it says “new chat” is where the list of active chats is displayed. It’s very easy to see who’s online and what chats you have going.

One feature BeejiveIM has that I couldn’t find in IM+ is the ability to e-mail the chat log. This is very handy if you need a record of the conversation. I’ve never used it, since most of my chats seem to be about why the Red Sox bullpen is imploding this year as opposed to discussions of actual work, but that feature may be necessary for those using IM on the iPad for business discussions.

I didn’t run into any major problems using Beejive, but I’ve seen reports of folks having crashing issues when they reviewed this on the App Store.I didn’t encounter any stability issues.

IM+ Pro ($9.99)

Unlike BeejiveIM, IM+ Pro is a universal app, so you can buy it once and it use it on both devices. I’m not a big fan of the interface, however. BeejiveIM has one window that shows active chat participants, the chat you’re typing in, and your contacts list, but with IM+ Pro, it’s a toggle between chat participants and contacts. It’s not a gigantic hassle, and the chat window itself is larger this way, so depending on your likes, it can be a wash. I did find myself warming to it over time. You can also send voice messages via this app. Also available (as an in-app purchase) is speech recognition for messages.

I mentioned it earlier, but it bears repeating: IM+ also connects to Skype chat as well as Facebook.

While BeejiveIM had no noticeable stability issues, I can’t say the same about IM+. One time I got an error when sending a message telling me the account was disconnected, but the account settings showed me still active. (I had actually dropped off, according to the person I was messaging.) I also noticed frequently it would say “reconnecting” when I launched the app to send a message, and according to my lucky test subject, I’d also dropped off the wire. It appears there may be some serious issues with this app staying connected, at least through Google Talk.

IM+ Lite (Free)

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention IM+ has a free version. This version differs from the paid version in two notable ways: It doesn’t connect to Skype chat, and there are small ads at the bottom of your chat window. You also don’t get the ability to purchase of speech recognition in-app.

AIM (Free)

If you’re lucky and all your friends just use AIM, the free AIM app is likely all you need. My testing with this falls into the “very limited” category since most of my contacts are scattered across the IM service sands. Given that limited testing, I give it a cautious Mark Crump It Seems To Work Just Fine award.

Conclusion

Going into this, I felt this was IM+ Pro’s battle to be lost. Given that it’s a universal app, I hoped that would give it the edge. Unfortunately, the connection problems were too frequent for me ignore. Therefore, my choice in the multi-protocol IM client battle is BeejiveIM. Yes, it sucks you need to pay twice if you’ve got the iPhone version, but a lot of apps I own aren’t universal, so paying twice is something I’m grudgingly getting used to. If you just use AIM, then there’s nothing wrong with the free AIM for iPad app.

What iPad IM client do you prefer?

Related GigaOM Pro Research: Can Anyone Compete With the iPad?

View full post on TheAppleBlog

(Photo: Cardinal Danneels arrives at federal police headquarters in Brussels July 6, 2010 for questions about  allegations of sexual abuse by priests/Stringer)

“Why do you feel so sorry for him and not for me?” — Victim of sexual abuse by a Belgian bishop to Cardinal Godfried Danneels.

The transcripts of two meetings between Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels and a man sexually abused by the disgraced former bishop of Bruges make for sad reading indeed. Two Flemish-language newspapers, De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad, published the texts on Saturday after the victim provided them with his secret recordings of the sessions.  My analysis of the case is here.

Apart from the exchanges they reveal, the transcripts are sobering because of the context of the meeting. It took place on April 8, at a time when the series of clerical sexual abuse revelations that began in Ireland the previous year was tearing through Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria like a tornado. Pope Benedict had issued an unprecedented apology to the Irish for the scandals only shortly before. Church leaders all over were vowing to end the Church’s culture of secrecy and put the victims’ welfare above the defence of the clergy. If there was any time to simply say, “OK, he has to go. We have to report this,” this was it.

(Photo: U.S. victims’ group protests at the Vatican, March 25, 2010/Alessandro Bianchi)

It’s a sad end for the career of a leading Catholic cardinal, a grandfatherly man who spent 30 years as primate of the Belgian Church and stepped down last January amid wide popular support (except from conservatives who denounced him as too liberal).

There’s also an almost comic side to this story. When Belgian police swooped down on Church offices and Danneels’s apartment in late June to seize files and computers for abuse records, they also searched two tombs of deceased archbishops in the Mechelen cathedral crypt because someone suggested the cardinal had hidden some  incriminating documents down there. They found nothing but the previous primates’ remains. Little did they know a real bombshell was elsewhere, on the tape the bishop’s victim had made.

In the published transcripts of that meeting,  the unnamed victim, now 42, told Danneels he could no longer keep quiet about how his uncle, Bishop Roger Vangheluwe, sexually abused him between the ages of 5 and 18. He says Vangheluwe could not remain in office and the case must be reported to the Church hierarchy, but he doesn’t know how to do this.

(Photo: Police outside the office of the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels during raid there, June 24, 2010./Eric Vidal)

“What do you really want?” asks Danneels, cutting the victim off by saying he already knows the story and doesn’t need to hear it again. When the man says “I give you the responsibility, I can’t decide … you should do what you think should be done, because I don’t know how this whole system works.”

“Do you want this to be made public?” the cardinal asks. “I leave that to you,” the victim responds. Then Danneels begins his effort to convince him to keep the lid on the problem: “The bishop will step down next year, so actually it would be better for you to wait.”

“No, I can’t agree that he takes his leave in glory, I can’t do that,” the victim replies.

The transcript is too long for me to translate all of it here and the only English version I’ve seen is too rough to be recommended. In any case, the exchange only gets worse. At one point, Danneels ducks and weaves trying to fend off the victim’s pleas to inform the Church hierarchy about Vangheluwe’s misdeeds. He says he has no authority over the bishop, only the pope does. When the victim suggests Danneels arrange a meeting with the pope, the cardinal gives the flip reply: “The pope isn’t that easy to reach.” A little later, he says:  “I don’t think you’d do yourself or him a favor by shouting this from the rooftops.”

(Photo: Danneels in Mechelen December 15, 2009/Thierry Roge)

At another point, Danneels suggests the victim admit his guilt and ask for forgiveness. “Who do I have to ask forgiveness from?” the surprised man asks.  When the  cardinal remarks that going public would put the bishop in a quandry, the victim replies: “I’ve been living my whole life in a quandry … I was brought up Catholic. I see the institution is wavering, I read the newspapers and so I think I have a duty to do this. How can I get my children to believe something that has such a background? I can’t. That’s just always shoving it onto the next generation. And everything stays the same. That’s not what the Church is for.”

When Danneels suggests the victim may be trying to blackmail the Church, the man pleads with him to take up this case, saying there has to be someone in the Church who can handle it because he cannot bring himself to expose his uncle on his own. “We were forced to get married by him, our children were baptised by him, how can I explain this to them?” he asked. “Yesterday I said to my oldest son, look, this is what happened to me. They must know what has happened.”

The exchange goes on with Danneels repeatedly arguing he has no power to do anything and that the whole story would come out if Vangheluwe were forced to resign. That’s when the victim asked: “Why do you feel so sorry for him and not for me? … You’re always trying to defend him. I thought I was going to get some support, but I have to sit here and defend myself against things I can’t do anything about.”

(Photo: Bishop Vangheluwe, November 7, 2006/Edwin Fontaine)

A second tape recorded the subsequent meeting Danneels held with Vangheluwe, the victim and a relative of the victim. In it, the bishop admits his guilt, begs for pardon and says speaking about the case felt liberating because it had weighed down on him for over 20 years as he tried to find a solution. “This is unsolvable,” the relative responds. “You’ve torn our family completely apart.”

Defending Danneels, his spokesman Toon Onsaer said the cardinal wasn’t covering anything up and had already spoken publicly about the meeting at an April 24 news conference. But Danneels said at that event that “the aim of the meeting was that I should listen and that we would eventually come to a conclusion that all could support.” He does not seem to do much listening in this exchange. Instead, it sounds like the stonewalling many other victims have reported from their confrontations with churchmen.

It’s not clear what comes next. Danneels has already retired as Brussels archbishop, so he can’t be called on to resign. The statute of limitations on Vangheluwe’s misdeeds has run out. The official inquiry into the scandals looks near collapse following reports that the spectacular raids on Church offices were illegal and evidence gathered from them cannot be used.

Follow FaithWorld on Twitter at RTRFaithWorld

View full post on Global News Journal

BMW has released another teaser video of the 1-Series M Coupe. Earlier this month BMW had released a cockpit video of the 1-Series M Coupe driving around the Ascari race track in Spain. It was reported that the car will be unveiled in December, before its world premiere at the 2011 North American International Auto Show.

Features that we can clearly make out from the latest video are the new wheels with that typical BBS-like design, quad exhaust tailpipes typical of modern BMW M cars, and of course the car also gets its own M styling.

As previous reports suggest, power will likely be provided by a twin-turbo N54 inline-six with at least 350 PS (257 kW / 345 bhp). It will be mated exclusively to a six-speed manual gearbox, which should allow the vehicle to accelerate from 0-60 mph in approximately 4.5 seconds.

View full post on Car Blog | Breaking Motoring News Daily

Pakistan's cricket team has been engulfed by accusations that some of their players are involved in a betting scam.

The allegations are damning, and the evidence of match-fixing produced by the British newspaper The News of The World could be devastating for the sport in Pakistan, where cricket is an obsession and a way of life.

That their players – their heroes, their icons – may have been involved in such a monumental scandal will be hard to swallow. That would be true at the best of times, but especially now, with Pakistan grappling with catastrophic flooding and a destabilizing terrorist insurgency.

The ray of hope and inspiration the players could have provided in the overseas Test series against England has been dramatically extinguished. The team was thrashed by their hosts, and have been publicly humiliated.

Many sports can be the victims of match-fixing, especially in the era of spread-betting where pundits can gamble on anything from the winner to the tiniest details of a match. Cricket is especially vulnerable, and it has been tarnished often in the past. Pakistan cricket has been faced with such allegations since the 1990s and already this year, several serious claims – yet to be proved – have been made.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) needs all the friends it can muster right now. Last year’s deadly and brazen terror attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore means that no-one will travel to play cricket in Pakistan, seriously affecting the PCB’s capacity to generate finances. That attack –- in which eight people died – also cost Pakistan the right to co-host next year’s lucrative World Cup. The sight of both teams leaving the stadium in a military helicopter could have been the death-knell for the sport in Pakistan.

You could hardly have scripted a worse series of events for a national sports team. I haven’t even mentioned the controversial death of their coach Bob Woolmer following their shock elimination from the last World Cup in the Caribbean. For weeks, the Jamaican police conducted a murder investigation, before deciding Woolmer had died from natural causes.

Through all of this, the team has survived. They have some incredibly talented young players and of course a devoted fan-base back home. But how many knocks can they take?

If true, some are hoping that these revelations will prompt a thorough cleansing of the sport in Pakistan. But even then, security remains a serious domestic issue and the integrity of Pakistan cricket may have been irretrievably damaged.

View full post on CNN World Sport

An historic journey is happening now…and no surprise, it's to feed China's appetite for energy.

The SCF Baltica is a large tanker that has just made it safely through the Arctic Circle to deliver 70,000 tons of  gas condensate (a natural gas extract) from Russia to China. This is the first time a tanker of this size has been able to make the journey through the Northern Sea Route. It's now headed for its final port destination just south of Shanghai.

There are two  interesting angles to this story:

1) This route through the Arctic cuts down the distance traveled by almost a half. The route from Murmansk, Russia to Ningbo, China covers 7,000 nautical miles. This is down from the 12,000 nautical miles it takes on the traditional route through the Suez Canal.

Sergey Frank, CEO of SCF Group, is taking the journey on board his tanker. I spoke with him via satellite phone and asked him how much money the shortcut is saving his company. He says, "That depends on the freight market but today, the freight market in the tanker business is not great. But anyway, the one day capital cost is $20,000 to $25,000. Any day of savings from these logistics is definitely improving the economics of the business."

2) Global warming. You only have to connect the dots: A  huge oil and gas tanker can make it through ice fields in the Arctic today because of the effects of global warming. And even then, the SCF Baltica  tanker is being escorted by two nuclear-powered ice breakers.   Sam Chambers, journalist and author of "Oil on Water," tells CNN, " It is unquestionable that this route has only become possible thanks to global warming, as sailors have been trying to – and failing – to find an Arctic route for centuries. Just a couple of weeks back Canadian authorities found an old sunken British ship in the far north that had met its end attempting the elusive Arctic passage."

Whether we like it or not, the Arctic is the new frontier for oil and gas transport. According to SCF Group, the information collected on this historic voyage will be entered into a database to plan future Arctic crossings with larger ice-class tankers.

View full post on Business 360

Rafa Benitez cut a lonely figure,as he stood in front of Inter Milan’s substitutes' bench as his side were beaten 2-0 by Atletico Madrid in the European Super Cup.

A poor second half saw the Nerazzurri, an all-conquering force under Jose Mourinho, outclassed by a surprisingly effective Atletico side in Monaco’s Louis II stadium.

As I watched Rafa staring into oblivion with the full time whistle approaching, I wondered whether he was regretting taking the job at the San Siro. The honeymoon has come to an abrupt end and there is no doubt this is going to be a long and arduous season for the former Liverpool boss.

Having taken over from Mourinho after Inter won an unprecedented treble, Benitez must have realized it was something of a poison chalice. This season, every time his side wins, it’s thanks to the work of his predecessor, while when they lose the finger will be pointing at him. That’s what you call a no-win-situation.

The first cracks in Inter’s armour appeared not just on the pitch, but also after the whistle had blown. Rumors abounded among the journalists present that midfielder Dejan Stankovic had complained about playing on the wing, a position where he didn’t feel comfortable. Wesley Sneijder, who was one of the stars of last season’s team, was another frustrated after being substituted in the second half.

The body language exhibited by a couple of other players didn’t look encouraging either. Samuel Eto’o, who has already declared he won’t sacrifice his goals for defensive duties like he did last year with Mourinho, looked disinterested at times. The Cameroon striker, whose colossal ego was kept in check last season, could become a problem, just like he did at Barcelona before leaving the Camp Nou.

Benitez himself must have felt the tension in the air, because he found the need to send a message to president Massimo Moratti following the defeat. He did admit the team played poorly, and took responsibility for the fact, but then hinted that the squad needs to be improved. Now is this a message that you want to send to your boss or employees at this point in time? After all, this group of players won everything on offer last season.

The next few weeks could be crucial to Benitez’s future at Inter. One or two more defeats and the pressure will surely rise. The Spanish coach could yet enjoy some success at the club this campaign, especially if you consider there aren’t many teams capable of battling for the Serie A title, but my gut feeling is that the Spanish supremo won’t stay long at the San Siro. The Nerazzurri will struggle to make an impact in the European Champions League and that could spell the end of his reign at the club.

View full post on CNN World Sport

Fisker has released a promotional video of the luxury plug-in hybrid, the Fisker Karma. The car features two electric motors, which are powered by a 200kW lithium-ion battery pack that produces 300 kW (402 hp / 408 PS) and 1,300 Nm (959 lb/ft) of torque.

The battery pack allows the car to travel up to 50 miles before a 2.0-liter turbocharged petrol engine kicks in to recharge it. The car can accelerate from 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in approximately six seconds, and has a top speed of 201 km/h (125 mph). It has an estimated combined fuel consumption rating of 2L/100km (117.6 mpg US).

The Karma, a four-door, four-seat luxury sports sedan, was unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January last year. It was scheduled to go on sale last year, but the sale was delayed for unspecified reasons. We can expect the car to be launched in 2011. The promotional video is here for you to see.

(Via WCF)

View full post on Car Blog | Breaking Motoring News Daily

The allegations are damning, and the evidence of match-fixing produced by the News of The World could be devastating for cricket and especially the sport in Pakistan. Cricket is the national sport in the Indian sub-continent, where for many fans it is a way of life.

Pakistan's cricket team has been engulfed by accusations that some of their players are involved in a betting scam.

That their players – their heroes, their icons – may have been involved in such a monumental scandal will be hard to swallow. That would be true at the best of times, but especially now, with Pakistan grappling with catastrophic flooding and a destabilizing terrorist insurgency. The ray of hope and inspiration the players could have provided in the overseas Test series against England has been dramatically extinguished. The team was thrashed by their hosts, the team publicly humiliated.

Many sports can be the victims of match fixing, especially in the era of spread-betting where pundits can gamble on anything from the winner to the tiniest details of a match. Cricket is especially vulnerable, and it has been tarnished often in the past. Pakistan cricket has been faced with such allegations since the 1990s and already this year, several serious claims have been made.

The Pakistan Cricket Board needs all the friends it can get right now. Last year’s deadly and brazen terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore means that no-one will travel to play cricket in Pakistan, seriously affecting the PCB’s capacity to generate finances. That attack – in which eight people died – also cost Pakistan the right to co-host next year’s lucrative World Cup. The sight of both teams leaving the stadium in a military helicopter could have been the death-knell for the sport in Pakistan.

You could hardly have scripted a worse series of events for a national sports team. I haven’t even mentioned the controversial death of their coach Bob Woolmer following their shock elimination from the last World Cup in the Caribbean. For weeks, the Jamaican police conducted a murder investigation, before deciding Woolmer had died from natural causes.

Through all of this, the team has survived. They have some incredibly talented young players and of course a devoted fan-base back home. But how many knocks can they take?

If true, some are hoping that these revelations will prompt a thorough cleansing of the sport in Pakistan. But even then, security remains a serious domestic issue and the integrity of Pakistan cricket may have been irretrievably damaged.

View full post on CNN World Sport

Leaked image of the 2012 Nissan GT-R is up and running in the web and the car is expected to be unveiled later this year. This comes about two months after some spy pictures had revealed one of the two Nissan GT-R prototypes doing some tests at the Nurburgring circuit (in Germany).

The latest photo reveals that the 2012 Nissan GT-R will be coming with minor changes. This includes a modified grille, lighter wheels, LED daytime running lights and a rear diffuser which is said to increase downforce by 10%.

There will also be two new color choices: Aurora Flare Blue Pearl and Nebula Opal Black. The car will be coming with the twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 engine. We can expect some minor modifications which should enable the engine to produce more than 485 hp (492 PS / 362 kW) and 434 lb-ft (588 Nm) of torque.

(Via GTRBlog)

View full post on Car Blog | Breaking Motoring News Daily

Fancy what happens when you put the Lexus LFA and a Nissan GTR on a test track?  This is exactly what the guys at MotorTrend did. Pitting the Lexus LFA against almost compatriot Nissan GTR is sure to throw up interesting results. Amazing results ensue, indeed, we got to see.

The super car-like Lexus LFA, which is to come for around $400,000, has proved that it’s the best on track by finishing a notch ahead of the Nissan beauty over the quarter mile. The performance of the Lexus LFA may be attributed to the 10 year’s worth of research and development that had been on at the Lexus stables in Japan.

The 553 hp V10 Yamaha manufactured engine under the hood could be something to die for, don’t you think? A top speed of 202 mph is what you get from the LFA’s 4.8-liter, Formula-1-derived, 552-horsepower V-10.

Along the test track, the Lexus LFA might  seem like it lacks the pull compared to what the Nissan GTR boasts of, but it still impresses with a table flat torque curve, with 90% of max delivered before 4000 rpm, according to MotorTrend.

The quarter mile gets dumped in just 11.8 sec @ 123.7 mph, as against the Nissan GTR’s 11.9 sec @ 120.1 mph. That is indeed telling isn’t it? If you aren’t convinced watch the video below.

(Via MotorTrend)

View full post on Car Blog | Breaking Motoring News Daily