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A Twin-Cell Solar Panel - Technology Review

A Twin-Cell Solar Panel - Technology Review

Kinect Turns Any Surface Into a Touch Screen - Technology Review

Kinect Turns Any Surface Into a Touch Screen  - Technology Review

A Tablet for the Blind? - Technology Review

A Tablet for the Blind? - Technology Review

Steve Jobs - Three Stories

Prepared text of the Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the world’s first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

New Battery Could Be Just What the Grid Ordered - Technology Review

New Battery Could Be Just What the Grid Ordered - Technology Review

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Web 2.0 Learning Opportunity starts In The Gambia

It had to be Roger Federer

Yesterday, Roger Federer silenced the critics who say that he is finished. Novak Djokovic had his unbeaten run of 43 matches suddenly abrogated when he met the master.

Throughout 2011, Novak was on a high and nobody could stop him. He was unstoppable on all surfaces and rivals were overawed by him. He seemed to have put on a new cloak of invincibility. When asked about the impending semi-final match, between Djokovic and Federer, Rafael Nadal commented that it was a match between the current best tennis player in the world against the best tennis player in history. That description said it all. If we were to predict from Nadal's description, it was fairly obvious who would win. The best player in history was still in excellent form and as recently as December 2010 defeated Novak in the end of season tournament of the masters in London.

When the match was played, it was clear why Roger Federer has the title of best player in tennis history. The gods of tennis inspired him to play some sublime tennis, we have not seen in recent times. He was simply magnificent. Novak was stunned and succumbed to Roger's super tennis in just four sets.

Poor Novak, had he simply won that match he would have secured for the first time in his career, the No. 1 position in the ATP world tour men's singles ranking even if he did not go on to win the Roland Garros tournament. However, there is still a silver lining in the clouds because Roger having undone Novak can make him again.

In his current form, Federer is primed to beat Rafael in the finals on Sunday. When he does that, Novak will then be No. 1 over Nadal. So you see, these days Roger Federer has arrogated to himself the power to do and undo.

Gaddafi prepares for Armageddon

The last few weeks have witnessed changes in the Maghreb that no one could have predicted even at the beginning of the year. The power of the people is beginning to take a unique stride in international politics. An Arab race long lost in slumber is waking up to meet its social responsibility. A sandstorm of change is blowing across the Arab world in all directions and no one can tell its final destination. The power of social media is being wielded in a way that could not have been imagined a few years ago.

The old saying "the pen is mightier than the sword" is being manifested in a strange way that reveals afresh that the characteristic of the pen that holds its power is its communicative strength.

Social media has empowered the people to communicate in a manner that was considered the preserve of only powerful witches. People are called to gather at the wink of an eye. Messages and even graphic images are passed at the speed of sound.

Tyrants can no longer hold sway as their firm grips on power slip out of control. They are left tongue tied and bemused. The natural instinct to resist soon gives way to calm acceptance of the new scheme of things. It is said that calm acceptance soon gives way to DDS (deposed dictator syndrome), the symptoms of which are immediate withdrawal from public view followed closely by coma. Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt are widely rumoured to be suffering from this condition.

First it was Tunisia, Yemen, and then Egypt and Bahrain and Libya then Jordan, Oman, Algeria and where else, who knows.

If these were put is seismological perspective, it would be 6.0 on the Richter scale in Tunisia, 6.4 in Egypt and a sustained series of after-shocks that left Hosni Mubarak confused and bemused. The biggest one was however still to come in Libya, first a minor rumbling, then the belching and spewing of smoke in ammunition dumps went up in loud bang to herald the beginning of the end for Colonel Gaddafi as the desperate despot attempted to cower a people who in forty long years ensconced in an iron grip have outgrown fear.

The big bang is yet to come as Gaddafi hold out against his "rats" and "dogs". It is dangerous enough to be faced with rabid stray dogs constantly barking at you to leave your own house. It is doubly dangerous when those dogs and even the rats are known to be sniffing drugs and drinking Al Qaeda power potions.

The good old Colonel has drawn his battle lines and the cry is "I will never leave my country. We shall fight to the death." As he prepares for the final showdown, we all wait in awe and great apprehension of the Armageddon, the mother of all battles.

A very peculiar Wimbledon Tennis Championship

The 2010 edition of the All England Lawn Tennis Championship popularly known as Wimbledon has come and gone with some very interesting stories.

Libya Air crash

Swiss Chickens Sue the Swiss Federal Government for Genocide

George Orwell would love to have watched proceedings in the Swiss Parliament when the latest bill on animal rights was being discussed. Switzerland has one of the most stringent animal rights laws in the world. Under the Swiss constitution, the protection of the "dignity" of plant life is upheld and animal rights have been established under a law passed last year for creatures such as goldfish and canaries. Pigs, budgies and other social creatures cannot be kept alone; horses and cows must be regularly exercised outside their stalls and dog owners are required to take a training course to learn how to properly care for their pets.
Given the vibrant discussions on this subject, the Association of Pro-Life Poultry (APLP) has taken the Swiss government to court to seek reparations for persistent genocide over the centuries and for a perpetual injunction to stop the killing and let their members live to old age and die naturally. They had waited patiently to see the outcome of the referendum that was to provide human lawyers to defend animal right cases. They had hoped that if the vote had been favourable they would have engaged a top Swiss lawyer at no cost to prosecute their case against the Swiss state for hypocrisy and blatant discrimination. APLP members had complained that even gold fish had better rights that they have. Unfortunately for them, the voters failed them as they overwhelmingly voted against the bill. The canton of Zurich has had its own animal lawyer since 1992. The Animal rights lawyer has had clients ranging from dogs, cats, guinea pigs, farm animals and, recently, to even a large pike. He argued "It took 10 minutes of struggle to reel the pike in before killing it. I regard that as cruelty. If someone had done that to a puppy, there would have been outrage," He further went on say, "People accused of animal cruelty very often hire lawyers to defend themselves. Why shouldn't someone speak for the animal as well? It's about fairness and defending a minority."
This is precisely the point for the APLP members. If the rights to comfort are being guaranteed by the state for some animals and even fish, surely chickens should have a right to life. They too would like to live to a ripe old age and die a natural death as pets do. The Swiss have cleverly made cases for “social animals” a group to which dogs, cats, budgerigars, gold fish have been put. APLP is calling up top ethologists and veterinary psychologists to prove that chickens are more sociable than dogs and cats. They question why they are singled out for annihilation, generation after generation. Why should the only beauty humans see in chickens be the tenderness of their flesh for food?
If human beings are so concerned about cruelty to their peers, they ought to have a bigger concern for the systematic murder generation after generation of their progenitors had suffered. They are deeply saddened by the fact that the clock has been turned back to Orwellian times when all animals were equal but some were more equal.

What A Difference A Year Makes. Federer smiles again in Melbourne

This time last year we saw a weeping Roger Federer after the loss to Rafael Nadal in that epic final.

Togo team banned from next two competion – CAF’s decision is insensitive and immoral

The recent decision by the Organising Committee of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations Angola, 2010 to ban Togo from participation in the next two competitions of the African Cup of Nations is an insult to common sense and a warped and vindictive interpretation of the rules that govern their tournaments. The CAF Organising Committee completely threw overboard the underlying philosophy of justice that guides every rule. A blind application of rules without any thought for the spirit behind the rule or law is tantamount to an abuse of the rule.

The Committee cited “Article 78 of Regulations of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Angola 2010” as the basis for their decision. In any contract, there is the possibility of unexpected and disruptive events may that may excuse a party from the obligations of the contract. In a normal and sensitive interpretation, these become mitigating circumstances that temper the judgment on the breach of that contract. The lawyers refer to such an event as force majeure. What worse event than the death of some members of the concerned parties do we expect to occur before it begins to take a serious view of Togo’s breach? The dishonest extension of the argument to interpret the withdrawal as entirely due to the interference of the Government of Togo in the affairs of the Togo national Football Association is most unfortunate.

The statement issued by CAF is an insult on injury. Hear them “The Executive Committee and its president renewed their sincere condolences to the families of victims involved in this tragic terrorist attack which happened January 8, 2010. The attack was condemned by CAF and also a total support was given to the Togolese team.” What support can they give to the dead? What “sincere” condolence can you give to a group you are punishing for an unfortunate event that they had no control over?

Let us go back and analyse the whole situation. The Angolan government and the Organising Committee claim they were not aware that the Togolese team was travelling by road from Point Noire to Cabinda. If this is true, how did the team get the security squad that was escorting them to Cabinda? The bus was not a Togolese nor was the driver who was tragically killed in the event. But for the Angolan Security men escorting the team bus, all members of the team could have been killed.

Immediately after the attack Rodrigues Mingas, Secretary General of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), said his fighters had meant to attack security guards as the convoy passed through the Angolan province of Cabinda, which is situated inside Congo. Rodrigues Mingas was reported to have told France 24 television. "This attack was not aimed at the Togolese players but at the Angolan forces at the head of the convoy, so it was pure chance that the gunfire hit the players. We don't have anything to do with the Togolese and we present our condolences to the African families and the Togo government. We are fighting for the total liberation of Cabinda."

The whole world saw video footage of a traumatized team. We heard what the team members said in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

According to a BBC report on that day, Togolese midfielder Alaixys Romao said the team was likely to pull out of the 16-nation cup.

"No-one wants to play," he said. "We're not capable of it. We're thinking first of all about the health of our injured because there was a lot of blood on the ground."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2010/jan/11/togo-team-home-africa-cup-nations

Despite their unfit psychological state, they were put under great pressure by the Angolan government and the Organising Committee to change their mind and play. So, who was interfering with the team’s decision, the Togolese government or the partnership of CAF and the Angolan government? Who knows what threats CAF made to the Togolese team to make them “change” their mind to stay on and play when they had explicitly told the whole world that they were too traumatized to play. Simply put, they were not in a proper psychological state to go into the tournament. The Togolese government did what any responsible government would have done in the circumstances. With relatives of team members bombarding them with questions and requests to bring the boys back home in accordance with the strong desire of the team members just after the attack, what should they have done? The Togolese nation went into mourning and they were fearful for the lives of the survivors.

Interestingly, the statement from CAF posted on their website does not mention the aspect of interference of the government of Togo. The decision appears to be entirely predicated on Article 78 which reads” A forfeit notified less than twenty days before the start or during the final competition, shall entail in addition of the forfeit of the entry fee, a maximum fine stipulated by the regulations as well as the suspension of the concerned national association for the following two editions of the African Cup of Nations.

Moreover, the withdrawal shall entail the forfeit of its share in the profits realised from the receipts. In addition, the Organising Committee may order the concerned national association to make compensation for any eventual damages.” Despite all the mitigating circumstances of the breach of the rules, the Committee applied the full weight of the prescribed sanctions. It will be observed that the Organising Committee ignored the provisions of their own Article 89 which says “Reserves are made as to cases of force majeure and shall be decided by the Organising Committee.”

Notice that there is no specific amount prescribed as the punitive fee in Article 78 – only “the forfeit of its share in the profits realised from the receipts.” What if there was no profit in this case, the Togolese FA still has to pay $50,000. This is an interpretation and application of law with a petty and rigid mind. They forgot to mention Article 90 which stipulates specific amounts. This was a very shoddy job of the Committee.

From the preliminary reaction of the Togolese government to the CAF statement, there is a clear indication that we have not heard the last of this matter. FIFA has a duty to intervene and correct this mindless, vindictive decision. Let common sense prevail in the interest of African football.

Fighting Al Qaeda: America's "Countries of Interest" - An incomplete list

In the wake of the failed Christmas day suicide bomb plot, President Obama ordered a swift investigation to find out why there was a system failure. Last Tuesday, the world was told of the near catastrophic failure arising from information hoarding, communication lapses and general system inertia.

As a direct response to the findings of this investigation, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has announced that "Because effective aviation security must begin beyond our borders, and as a result of extraordinary cooperation from our global aviation partners, TSA is mandating that every individual flying into the U.S. from anywhere in the world traveling from or through nations that are state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest will be required to go through enhanced screening. The Nations that are state sponsors of terrorism were identified as Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria and the ten "countries of Interest"; Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen.

Nigeria was included in the infamous list because of the singular act of its national, Abdul Umar Farouk Mutallab, the 23-year old mechanical engineering graduate of the University College of London who had been radicalised while studying in England and trained for his mission in Yemen.

It will be recalled that Richard Colvin Reid, otherwise known as the shoe bomber, was a member of Al Qaeda who was convicted by an American federal court for attempting to destroy a commercial aircraft in-flight by detonating explosives hidden in his shoes in December 2001. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in a super maximum security prison in the United States. His crime led to the new requirement of U.S. airline passengers having to remove their shoes for inspection before boarding. Richard Reid was born and bred British, radicalized to Islamic extremism at Finsbury Park Mosque in London. The series of coordinated suicide bombings on London's public transport system during the morning rush hour on July 7, 2005 were carried out by four British Muslim men.

In 2006, there was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board at least 10 airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada. Interestingly the explosive of choice was also PETN, the same explosive found on the Nigerian. At least 24 suspects were arrested and charged to court for terrorism offences. These were all British home grown terrorists. Most of these have been convicted. This incident brought to the fore the need to look at the British social system to see what the key factors were that enhanced the incubation of these terrorists.

The young Nigerian Abdul Mutallab became radicalised while studying at the University College, London. From England, he went to the Middle East to live out his new extremist faith. So I see a common thread in all of these incidents - the British society offers a favourable atmosphere for impressionable young people to become terrorists. The law in that country allows all kinds of Islamic extremists to use, with impunity, hate-filled messages to poison the minds of young gullible Muslims.

These instances of British terrorists clearly point to Great Britain as a country in which several terrorists have been produced. It then goes without saying that any list of "countries of interest" without Great Britain seems to me to be incomplete, if the single incidence of a Nigerian attempted bomber can qualify that nation to be in that list. In this particular case the father of the young man made a report to both the authorities in Nigeria and to the US Embassy in Nigeria. This indicates there is no intrinsic jihadist inclination or culture in Nigeria and that the Nigerian system does not tolerate it.

Newspaper reports indicate that the Committee on Foreign Relations of the US Senate has invited the father of the alleged terrorist to appear before the Senate on January 20, 2010. The letter which requested the former Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria to testify before it stated that: “The United State Senate Committee on Foreign Relations would like to extend an invitation to Mr. Farouk Abdul Mutallab, former Chief Executive Officer of the First Bank of Nigeria, to testify before the Committee on the morning of January 20, 2010.

“Mr. Abdul Mutallab acted in a heroic fashion by informing US authorities of his concerns about his son’s whereabouts and activities and by seeking to disrupt what he believed could have been a dangerous situation. We would like to afford him the opportunity to discuss his experience with his son and to provide his recommendations on the process by which he worked with US authorities.

“I would also note that Mr. Abdul Mutallab's appearance would allow him to correct the negative press to which Nigeria has been unfairly subjected over the past two weeks.

If this is how the United States Senate feels about the role of Abdul Mutallab Snr in the failed bombing episode, the inclusion of Nigeria in the list of "countries of interest" is absolutely unjustified.

Roger Federer , King of Tennis - The Final Verdict

The debate about who is the Greatest Tennis Player ever was concluded today when Roger Federer took Andy Roddick through over four hours of brilliant tennis to emerge winner of the 2009 Wimbledon Men's Singles tennis championships 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14. In this single match alone Federer served 50 aces - a record at the Wimbledon championships. The final set went to 16-14 and lasted over one hour.

All the Tennis greats were on hand to watch him prove his mettle. Rod Laver of Australia had won the tournament four times, Bjorn Borg of Sweden five times, Pete Samparas of the US seven times. Pete Sampras flew in from the United States especially to watch the final and to witness Federer break his record of 14 Grand Slam titles, a record which Federer had equalled when he won Roland Garros in May. At the post match interview with BBC Sports journalists, their verdict was unanimous - Roger is the greatest of all time, and come to think , he surpassed Pete Sampras's seemingly unbreakable record in a spate of just six years.

Long live the King of Tennis!!

Serena Williams - True Grit

Serena Williams showed class to overcome her big sister Venus to win th 2009 Winbledon Ladies singles championship trophy. She exhibited a real thirst to win Wimbledon one more time. Serving very well and dishing out aces at will, she totally broke the resolve of her big sister in the second set of the final. She stopped any expectation of a classic when she overpowered Venus with her serves and finished off the second set at 6-2. This was the fourth meeting of the sisters in the finals of the ladies singles event and Serena's third victory in the ladies singles, having previously won in 2002 and 2003.

A few hours later, the two sisters teamed up to defeat the No.3 seeds in the Ladies doubles final. By these victories, Serena has reclaimed the No. 1 spot from Dinara Safina in the WTA rankings.

The Williams sisters - Too hot to handle

Wimbledon 2009 has seen a fresh resurgence of Venus and Serena Williams. Throughout these two weeks they have exhibited a new standard of tennis. All the '..ovics' '..ova's and ..'evas' that have attempted to stop them have been literally brushed aside. Elena Dimentieva was the bravest and best of the lot in this year's championship. Having been knocked down by big sister Venus in the semi-finals in 2008, she tried to explore the possibility of going to the final via Serena this year. Once again despite a spirited battle which has been described as epic, she fell by the wayside. The anguish of Elena Dimentieva's mother who was watching the semi-final match just behind Daddy Williams was palpable.
In January this year at the Australian Open, the honour of teaching Dinara Safina tennis lessons fell on Serena. She took the task seriously and properly trounced Dinara. Dinara herself acknowledged the absolute dominance of Serena. Serena not only beat her but also prevented her on that occasion from becoming World No.1. Since then by dint of hard work and compettion in several WTA events, Dinara has snatched back the No. 1 position.
As the ladies World No.1, many expected that she would have the courage and audacity to challenge Venus's seemingly easy ride in this tournament. Alas it was not to be; she instead took in a few new lessons from Sister Venus. She was made to look not only ordinary but totally out of place in a Wimbledon semi-final event. Such was the severity of the trouncing that she looked dazed and humbled as BBC journalists tried to interview her just after the match. The ladies World No.1 position was embarrasingly disgraced. Again Dinara honestly conceded that she learnt a few more lessons from Venus. I am sure Venus and Serena do not mind giving the lesson 'free of charge'. They get their rewards shortly afterward in fat purses.
As if the singles dominance was not enough, the sisters have so far terrorised all opponents that have come their way this week in the ladies doubles game. The blowing away of the ladies doubles World No.1, the seasoned pair of Black and Huber at the semi-finals at 6-1 6-2 today tells a lot about their current form. They are simply too hot to handle and therefore unstoppable. Top of the Ace Table was Serena with 60 aces in this tournament at the last count. With their combined arsenal of hot serves, beautiful groundstrokes, agressive volleys and intelligent net play, Venus and Serena have placed themselves in a class apart from the pack at least on grass. Venus, afterall has a natural claim to the Venus Rosewater Dish which is the trophy that is awarded to the ladies' singles champion at Wimbledon since 1886.
On Saturday, they will again have a monoply of the ladies singles and doubles trophies. Long live good tennis!!

Fulfillment at last for Roger Federer - The Greatest Tennis Player Ever?

Last Sunday at the finals of Roland Garros (the French Open tournament), Roger Federer the Swiss tennis maestro outplayed Robin Soderling of Sweden, defeating 6-1 7-6(1) 6-4 and finally achieved his dream of joining the select band of very special men that have won all four of the Grandslam tennis championships - the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US open. Before him, only the following tennis legends had achieved this feat - Fred Perry (1 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 3 Wimbledons, 3 US Opens between 1933 and 1936), Donald Budge (1 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 2 Wimbledons, 2 US Opens between1937 and 1938), Rod Laver (3 Australian Opens, 4 French Opens, 2 Wimbledons, 2 US Opens between 1960 and 1969), Roy Emerson (6 Australian Opens, 2 French Opens, 2 Wimbledons, 2 US Opens between 1961 and 1967) and Andre Agassi (4 Australian Opens, 1 French Open, 1 Wimbledon, 2 US Opens between 1992 and 2003). By this effort, he was also €1,060,000 richer and 2000 ATP points higher. This win also marked his 59th career title.

In contrast to his tears of frustration at this year's Australian Open, at Roland Garros, Federer shed tears of joy for a mission accomplished.

But more than winning all four grand slams, he also equalled Pete Sampras' record of 14 grand slam tournamment victories. Pete Sampras won 2 Australian Opens, 7 Wimbledons and 5 US Opens between 1990 and 2002. To his credit, Roger Federer has won 3 Australian Opens, 1 French Open, 5 Wimbledons, 5 US Opens between 2003 and 2009.

Details of Federer's wins:

Australian Open 2003, 2006 & 2007

French Open - 2009

Wimbledon - 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 & 2007

US Open - 2004, 2005, 2006 2007, & 2008

Many in the tennis world have already proclaimed him the greatest player of all time, having won the highest number of grand slams at par with Pete Sampras and also having won all the four grand slams - a feat Sampras failed to achieve. At age 27, and in his current form, Federer has the chance to win many more grand slams.

With Wimbledon round the corner and the defending champion, Rafael Nadal not in his best form and fitness, it will be a matter of weeks before Roger Federer confirms beyond any doubt or argument whatsoever that he is indeed the best player the world has ever seen.

Long live the King of Tennis!!

PS: By the way, did you know of Roger Federer's African connection? His mum, Lynette Federer, is South African. Dad Robert is Swiss.