Harrington hoping wet weather decimates Open field - ESPN.co.uk
Padraig Harrington is hopeful that the atrocious weather scenes witnessed ahead the start of The Open can help to shred away some of the competition.
The Irishman and the remainder of the field taking part at the 141st Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes have been observing the poor conditions in the lead-up to teeing off on Thursday, and while many will not have much of an appetite for playing in the wet Harrington sees the benefit.
"There's going to be ebb and flow during the week, you're going to get some good breaks and some bad breaks," said the two-times Open winner. "You'll be walking up to some holes and you're going to see that rain coming in and you'll be hoping it holds off to get through that tee shot.
"But that's the nature of links golf, you tend to be able to see the bad weather when it's coming at you."
Asked whether he would prefer to play through some testing conditions, Harrington confirmed that he views it as a potential aid.
"I think yes, I would like some of the golf to be tough this week, some of the conditions, but I know myself when you have 72 holes of a rainy tournament it's nearly last man standing at that stage and that's really difficult for everybody," he explained.
"I would like to see certainly 18 holes, if not 36 holes of difficult conditions because that will cut enough of the field out and hopefully I won't be one of those."
Harrington took two of his three career major titles at The Open in 2007 and 2008.
© ESPN EMEA Ltd
Coachella cruise festival headlined by Pulp to set sail - BBC News
Pulp won an NME outstanding contribution to music award this year
Californian music festival Coachella has announced details of a new event taking place on a cruise ship.
Pulp and Hot Chip are among the acts to perform on board the S.S. Coachella.
The cruise liner, which has capacity for 2,800 fans, will set sail for two journeys around Bahamas and Jamaica in December.
Other acts confirmed to play gigs on board include Yeasayer, Sleigh Bells, Grimes, Warpaint with James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem playing a DJ set.
The festival will make two trips with the first one departing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on 16 December.
It follows a number of other music events being staged on cruise ships.
In January US indie-rockers Weezer performed at sea as part of their own festival.
R. Kelly's Love Letter Cruise will also take place in October.
Meanwhile, Coachella's annual land-based music festival, held near Indio, California returns across two weekends in April 2013.
Intel downgrades full-year business outlook - CIO UK
Intel warned it expects to see lower-than-anticipated growth for 2012. The news came as the company posted mixed results for the second quarter of the year.
The world's biggest chip maker said net profit for the three months to the end of June was $2.8 billion, down 4% from the same period a year earlier. Revenues were $13.5 billion, up 3% from the second quarter of 2011.
"As we enter the third quarter, our growth will be slower than we anticipated due to a more challenging macroeconomic environment," said Paul Otellini, president and CEO of Intel.
As a result, the company expects to record annual revenue growth of between 3% and 5% this year, down from the "high single digit" growth it had previously predicted.
Intel's results come against a general lack of consumer enthusiasm for desktop and laptop computers in preference to tablets and smartphones. Global PC sales reached 87.5 million units in the quarter, virtually unchanged from the same period a year ago, according to figures from IDC. The drop was steeper in established markets like the U.S., where PC shipments dropped 5.7 percent.
While Intel sells chips that go into both tablet PCs and smartphones, the chips are not as powerful and don't carry the same price tags and profit margins as Intel's faster PC processors. Intel is trying to rekindle interest in laptop PCs with the Ultrabook platform, a sleek, thin design intended to bring Macbook Air style to the Windows PC sector, but the machines are still at an early stage.
United start world tour with narrow victory - Football
Published: 18 Jul 2012 - 21:47:00
Manchester United started a six-game pre-season world tour with a 1-0 win over AmaZulu before a capacity 50,000 crowd at Moses Mabhida Stadium Wednesday.
Federico Macheda scored the winner midway through the first half for the Red Devils, who came closest to increasing their lead just before time when another Italian, substitute Davide Petrucci, rattled the crossbar.
It was a closer match than anticipated, with many South Africans believing mid-table Premiership side AmaZulu would be swept aside by the former European champions even though they lacked many first choices like Wayne Rooney.
Political icon Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected president of South Africa, was remembered before the kick-off with the teams wishing him a happy 94th birthday in song.
"My players tired during the second half which was quite even," said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. "I'm happy with the result and it was nice to give Nelson Mandela a birthday present of a United victory.
"I gave a few young players a chance tonight and we have high hopes for two or three of them. Jesse Lingard has got a lot of potential and Scott Wootton impressed in the heart of defence."
United left new signing Shinji Kagawa from Japan on the bench as they started with a mix of experienced stars like captain Rio Ferdinand and youngsters Robbie Brady, Frederic Veseli, Wootton and Lingard.
The Red Devils were quick into their stride on a clear mid-winter evening in the Indian Ocean city and could have taken the lead inside two minutes had Javier Hernandez been sharper.
Goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini failed to grasp a close-range Macheda shot and the ball fell invitingly for the Mexican in front of goal, but he failed to connect and the South Africans hastily cleared.
United were dominant in the early stages against nervous opponents and the 2012 English Premier League runners-up to Manchester City would not have been flattered by a three-goal lead after 10 minutes.
Machedo broke the deadlock on 20 minutes by finishing off good work from Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov with a close-range shot that touched the hand of the AmaZulu goalkeeper and the foot of a defender before crossing the line.
The goal triggered greater urgency from AmaZulu, a South African Premiership side coached by Swede Roger Palmgren, and Ayanda Dlamini twice threatened the visiting defence.
Berbatov was unlucky not to score a second goal for United before half-time as his sweetly struck volley off a corner was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Zimbabwean Kapini.
A frenetic start to the second half saw both teams come close to scoring and AmaZulu posed more of a threat as it progressed, although they were continually let down by wild shooting.
Kagawa, a June signing from German champions Borussia Dortmund, finally came on one minute from time after a prolonged wait on the touchline before the ball went out of play.
United play Ajax Cape Town Saturday before flying to China for a midweek clash against Shanghai Shenhua, the club that recently signed Chelsea Champions League hero Didier Drogba.
The Old Trafford club will also face Valerenga in Norway, Barcelona in Sweden and Hanover in Germany during a 22,000-mile (35,400-kilometre) pre-season tour before opening their Premier League campaign against Everton.
Related Manchester United News
CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-AT&T data fees to jump in new shared plan option - Reuters UK
(Corrects Reuters Instrument Code for Apple Inc in paragraph 11.)
* Per gigabyte fee cheaper the more data is bought
* Plans seen increasing revenue long-term
* AT&T shares up 5 cents to $35.87
NEW YORK, July 18 (Reuters) - AT&T Inc is following bigger rival Verizon Wireless with a new type of family plan that will significantly raise its fees for data services, such as mobile Internet.
But, unlike its rival, AT&T said the plan will be an option, rather than a requirement, for new customers. AT&T customers and some Verizon customers upgrading to a new phone will also be able to keep their old plans, the companies said.
Late in August, AT&T will launch the new offering, which allows customers of the No. 2 U.S. mobile provider to buy a single data plan for up to 10 devices, and includes unlimited phone calls and text messages.
While some customers who talk and text a lot could save money under the plan, others will end up paying quadruple their current fee for data. For example AT&T will charge $40 for 1 gigabyte of data per month, compared with its current rate of $30 for 3 gigabytes.
The hope is that the new plan, similar to one kicked off by Verizon Wireless in June, will entice individuals and families to connect more devices such as tablet computers to the AT&T network because they will no longer have to buy a separate monthly data allowance for each mobile device.
Since young consumers are making fewer phone calls in favor of communicating via data services such as Skype or Facebook, AT&T, like Verizon Wireless, is overhauling its pricing in a bid to boost revenue from data services and to preempt a drop in voice revenue.
Pivotal Research analyst Steve Sweeney expects the companies' plans to increase overall revenue over the long term, though it may reduce average revenue per customer slightly in the short term.
"AT&T and Verizon are both changing their pricing structures to maximize their long-term revenue growth based on where the highest growth in demand will be coming from," Sweeney said, referring to growing demand for data services.
Analysts expect AT&T's offer of the new plan as an additional choice will work in its favor.
"You really can't alienate people by giving them another option," Pivotal's Sweeny said. "AT&T's approach is a little smarter."
In particular, Barclays analyst James Ratcliffe said in a research note, AT&T wants to hold on to its 9 million customers who bought the Apple Inc iPhone in the second half of 2010, when AT&T was still the only U.S. iPhone provider.
Since AT&T is letting them continue with their current data plans, these customers, whose contracts will end this year, may be less inclined to look at other providers such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint when they buy their next iPhone.
BUYING IN BULK
AT&T hopes the new plan leads people to buy data in bulk because the bigger the data plan, the cheaper the per-gigabyte rate will be. A customer who wants 20 gigabytes of data, would pay $200 every month, or $10 per gigabyte - level with its current $30-for-3-gigabytes plan.
"We think there's really great flexibility for these plans," David Christopher, AT&T's chief marketing officer for mobile told Reuters.
For example, he said a customer could use more data on their tablet one month and switch their heaviest usage to a smartphone the next month without adjusting their plan.
Or if some family members tend to use less data than others, the heavier users would be less likely to go over their limit and incur hefty overage fees under the new plan.
But if the higher price for each gigabyte of data is off-putting for some consumers, there is one key difference between AT&T and Verizon Wireless. AT&T will keep offering its existing plans whereas Verizon Wireless offers no choice to new customers and customers upgrading to a subsidized phone.
"If shared data is not for you then we'd love for you to stay on our existing plans. We know the existing plans make sense for lots of situations," Christopher told Reuters in what appeared to be a veiled dig at Verizon Wireless.
The executive declined to disclose the company's expectations for the impact on revenue and customer growth.
When Verizon Wireless announced its data share plan on June 12, some customers complained that they did not want unlimited phone calls or higher data fees.
Under the new plan, an AT&T customer with one smartphone would pay a $45 monthly fee for unlimited calling and texting and a $40 fee for one gigabyte of data. The voice and texting fee per smartphone drops to $40 for customers who pay $70 a month for 4 gigabytes of data.
An AT&T customer buying 20 gigabytes for $200 a month would pay $30 for voice and texting for each smartphone, leading to a total bill of $350 for a family of five.
In comparison, a Verizon Wireless customer would pay $150 for 20 gigabytes of data and $40 per smartphone, also leading to a total bill of $350 for a family of five.
Smaller rival Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. mobile service, does not offer family plans for data, but instead offers unlimited data usage for a flat monthly fee. Sprint spokesman Scott Sloat said that its pricing is easier for customers to understand.
"The concept of sharing a monthly data allowance across a family of devices and people significantly increases the potential of a surprise monthly bill," Sloat said.
Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney declined direct comment on the AT&T plan but said: "Competition always benefits consumers."
Verizon Wireless is a venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc.
AT&T shares were up 5 cents at $35.87 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, while Verizon shares were down 8 cents at $45.58. Sprint shares rose a penny to $3.66. (Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
Madonna has highest grossing tour, says Billboard - BBC News
Madonna is in the UK playing dates in London, Birmingham and Edinburgh
Madonna has had the highest grossing tour since the beginning of June, according to Billboard magazine.
The pop star, 53, has made nearly $50 million (£32m) on her MDNA world tour since it started in Israel on 31 May.
The singer still has concerts to play across Europe and North America before finishing in Argentina just before Christmas.
Lady Gaga is in second place on the list with Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson tour in third.
Other artists in the top 10 include Jennifer Lopez, Iron Maiden and Foster The People.
The rest of the rundown is made up of country acts Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley, Canadian reality show Star Academie and American singer/songwriter James Taylor.
Madonna has performed to more people then her closest competitors this year with 417,448 watching her shows so far.
In comparison, Lady Gaga has been seen by 180,498 and Jennifer Lopez by just over 20,000.
Former Pink Floyd star Roger Waters' tour tops total worldwide concert ticket sales for the first half of 2012, according to Pollstar magazine.
The top 10 highest grossing tours since the beginning of June are:
1. Madonna - $49.5 million (£32m)
2. Lady Gaga - $23.6m (£15m)
3. Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson tour - $5.8m (£3.7m)
4. Rascal Flatts - $2.3m (£1.4m)
5. Jennifer Lopez - $1.7m (£1.08m)
6. Iron Maiden - $1.5m (£959,000)
7. Brad Paisley - $1.2m (767,000)
8. Star Academie - $834,000 (£533,000)
9. James Taylor - $688,000 (£439,000)
10. Foster The People $573,000 (£366,000)
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